«اِلْعِينْ لَمَّا تِقْوَى تِبْقَى حَجَرْ»

The saying describes what happens when a person's sense of shame wears away. Here a 'strong' eye means a bold, unabashed gaze, not good eyesight or physical strength. A modest eye lowers itself before others, but once that restraint is gone the gaze hardens, fixed and unblinking as stone.

In practice the proverb is a judgment on impudence, not a reference to the evil eye or harmful looking. It suggests that boldness, once it sets in, becomes a lasting hardness rather than a passing mood. Such a person can no longer be shamed into backing down and simply stares back at whoever confronts them.

Use it as a critical remark about someone who has grown brazen: a person who, when reproached or caught out, stares straight back instead of looking away in embarrassment. It carries disapproval and suits informal speech.