A gimlet is a small hand tool with a sharp, spiraling metal point used for boring holes in wood. It looks like a twisted metal screw attached to a wooden handle. Carpenters and woodworkers use gimlets to make starter holes before inserting screws or to create small openings without splitting the wood. Unlike a drill that spins with mechanical power, you twist a gimlet by hand, watching it spiral deeper with each turn.

The word also describes a sharp, piercing look or gaze. When someone gives you a gimlet eye, they're staring at you with intense, penetrating focus, as if trying to see right through you. A teacher might fix a gimlet stare on students who are whispering during a test. The connection makes sense: just as the tool bores through wood, a gimlet eye seems to bore through pretense or distraction.

Gimlet can also mean keen and sharp in understanding. A detective with a gimlet mind notices details others miss, piecing together clues with precision. Someone with gimlet-eyed observation sees past surface appearances to what's really happening. Whether referring to the tool, the gaze, or the mind, gimlet always suggests something sharp, focused, and able to penetrate beneath the surface.