It is a phrase that means just what it says -- someone was blinking their eyes between whatever else was in the original sentence.
You cannot understand an idiom without knowing ahead of time what it means. A phrase is just part of a normal sentence.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is not easily deduced from the individual words used, often carrying a symbolic or cultural connotation. A descriptive phrase, on the other hand, is simply a phrase that describes something without the use of figurative language.
"All that glitters isn't gold."
Can you figure out the meaning by defining the terms? Yes, so it's a phrase instead of an idiom.
Yes
The phrase "laid eyes on" is an idiom.
An idiom is a phrase that doesn't make any sense unless you know the idiomatic definition. This phrase means exactly what it looks like, so it's not an idiom.
An idiom is a phrase that doesn't make any sense unless you know the definition. This phrase makes perfect sense, so it is not an idiom. The room became quiet.
An idiom is a phrase that cannot be understood by context unless you know the definition, like "kick the bucket" being an idiom for dying.A cliche is a stale or trite phrase that has been overused to the point of being boring, like "think outside of the box."
Stuck in a rut is a phrase, but I am not sure if an idiom is the same thing as a phrase. You may be thinking of a cliche and "stuck in a RUT" is a cliche. "Stuck in a road" is neither cliche nor idiom.
A phrase unique to a particular language is called an "idiom." Idioms often have meanings that cannot be derived from the individual words used in the phrase.
The phrase "over the fence" or also known as "on the fence" is a common English idiom. It means when a person has to choose between two sides.