What is the difference between
They exchange greetings through eyes
and
They exchange greetings with eyes
or even
They exchange greetings by eyes
This might seem like a simple and basic question about prepositions, but I want to know the subtle conecptual differences, through these examples.
Thank you.
Best Answer
You ask an excellent question about three prepositions of agency -- (1) through, (2) with, and (3) by -- used with the word eyes. Eyes have two capacities: (A) they are one way the world communicates to us (as the organs of sight) and (B) they are one way we communicate to the world. Sense A is seeing; sense B is looking at.
For sense B, we have the saying the eyes are the windows to the soul, i.e., our eyes reveal to others who we truly are. We say, "Her eyes flashed with anger" to indicate that somebody looks angry. And in your examples, two people send wordless messages to each other by a glance, a wink, or some other action using their eyes. All three prepositions are used in both senses.
through
(A) From Their Eyes Meeting the World: the drawings and paintings of children by Robert Coles and Margaret Sartor (1992)
This is a common metaphorical expression for using another's eyes to mean to see what they see.
(B) From Return Trip Tango and Other Stories from Abroad by F MacShane and M Carlson (1992)
This is the other sense. The narrator is looking at animals' eyes for her understanding.
with
(A)With Blood in their Eyes by S G Lawrence (1961):
That is, they saw the footsteps.
(B) From Secrets from the Casting Couch: On Camera Strategies for Actors from a Casting Director by Nancy Bishop (2009):
That is, they had other people looking at their eyes.
by
(A) From Intellectual Repository and New Jerusalem Magazine (Vol 5, 1839)
That is, inhabitants of the spiritual world may become aware of the natural world by seeing things by using the eyes of humans.
(B) Holding the Dream by Nora Roberts (1997):
And here again, the other sense, of people looking at eyes.
Prepositions often have numerous shades of meaning and idiomatic usages, but in this context, they all mean the same thing, whether it's taking signals in (i.e, seeing) or by sending signals out.
As a side note, eyes in your examples needs a preceding determinative, probably their.