keep your eyes peeled

[currunbun]

Where does the saying 'Keep your eyes peeled' come from?

[shaneystar2]

Peel derives from an old verb pill, �to plunder�, which is the root of our modern word pillage. It came to us from the Latin root pilare, meaning �to take the hair off, pluck� but which also had the figurative meaning of �plunder, cheat�, almost exactly the same as the figurative meaning of our modern verbs fleece or pluck. From about the 17th century on, pill was commonly spelt peel and took on the sense of �to remove or strip� in the weakened sense of removing an outer covering, such as a fruit. The figurative sense of keeping alert, by removing any covering of the eye that might impede vision, seems to have appeared in the US about 1850.
From Worldwide Words.

[katerich48]

I wonder if its anything to do with the early police force - Sir Robert Peels men were called "Peelers" was keeping your eyes peeled acting like a policeman?...

[frenchfriar]

I think I once it heard a reference to it, that was tied to peeling potatoes. Since potatoes have "eyes", peeling them removes them; at the same time, the phrase was an admonition to watch out for them, (to ensure you removed them) while peeling. Hence, to "keep your eyes peeled" was a command to stay alert. Unfortunately, I do not remember the source given for this, but it was told in a living history exhibit, at an american civil War fort and museum. the guide was mentioning lots of "ktichen adages" that arose at the time, and have come down to us in the language.