Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is:
> A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze.
The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction.
Dictionaries: Several commenters have posted dictionary entries for related but distinct constructions like "fix a gaze on." Here are entries supporting the exact construction under discussion.
4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fix#Verb, definition 1.1: "(Of a piercing look) to direct at someone." (note that definition 1, but not 1.1, is marked as obsolete)
- "He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, 'I told you it wouldn't work!'"
- "She sniffed, too, comprehendingly, and fixed her son with a relentless eye."
- Footage shows the Government’s deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher fixing the Speaker with a firm stare before calling him a “bully” three times after he lectured Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom over procedure. (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8158041/government-whip-caught...)
- "Peskov was chatting over coffee here in Sochi with a few reporters, and he fixed them with a true-believer gaze as he described the Russia that will be revealed — especially to Americans viewing the world through Cold War-frosted glasses — as the flags are raised for the Opening Ceremonies on Feb. 7, 2014." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-expects-o...)
- After setting the tone for their set with explosive performances of "Brenden Lechner" and "Moldy Cannoli" while wrapping the mike around his neck like a young Iggy Pop while fixing the crowd with a confrontational blank stare, Robbie Pfeffer announced, "We are Playboy Manbaby. Not to be confused with the drum circle." (https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/03/2...)
Thank you, I respect the effort put into this. The free time and skills that I did not have.
I'm at this point more interested the Psychology of the readers who insisted "I don't know the phrase, and drew a blank, therefor it's wrong, broken, bad writing, how dare they not write for me". And refuse to listen to the contrary, indeed "refute" it (hah).
It's something - entitled? Arrogant? Leaning into ignorance? Fixed mindset? Whatever it is, it's best viewed at a distance, like car crash.
> I'm at this more interested the Psychology of the readers
Sure.
In my head it looked like this:
"I don't think this is an idiom" (meaning that either it is not an idiom or I am unfamiliar)
"I am an authority on English, and it is an idiom"
"Nah."
"Here are the dictionaries"
"It is not in the dictionaries"
"Google it"
"That's lazy, but sure. It is not on the internet"
"Here, it is in a pdf used in education"
"Fine"
I don't think that I am the arrogant or entitled one here. Also I don't understand why are you coming after me after this concluded. This, and your other comment. I very much don't like it.
Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is:
> A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze.
The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction.
Dictionaries: Several commenters have posted dictionary entries for related but distinct constructions like "fix a gaze on." Here are entries supporting the exact construction under discussion.
1. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fix-with
2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fix%20(someone)%2...
3. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix, definition 9: "If you fix someone with a particular kind of expression, you look at them in that way."
- "He took her hand and fixed her with a look of deep concern. [VERB noun with noun]"
- "He fixed me with a lopsided grin. [VERB noun with noun]"
examples from other Collins entries:
- "The man fixed his interrogator with a steady gaze and spoke quietly but firmly." (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/sentences/english/gaze)
- "He pulls his other hand towards his face and fixes me with an intense gaze that has been well practised." (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/inte...)
4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fix#Verb, definition 1.1: "(Of a piercing look) to direct at someone." (note that definition 1, but not 1.1, is marked as obsolete)
- "He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, 'I told you it wouldn't work!'"
- "She sniffed, too, comprehendingly, and fixed her son with a relentless eye."
5. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/englis..., idioms: "fix somebody with a look, stare, gaze, etc.: to look directly at somebody for a long time"
- "He fixed her with an angry stare."
6. Examples from other dictionaries exhibiting the construction:
- "To glare is to fix another with a hard, piercing stare" (https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=gaze)
- "Aron Nimzowitsch, a contemporary of Alekhine’s, would smoke a noxious cigar and fix his opponent with a dread stare." (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nimzowitsch)