What Is A Thousand Yard Stare?

Often written about and (these days) rarely encountered by civilized people, is an expression found only in the eyes, and generally only in the eyes of Badass Mofo/Criminal types or Badass Mofo/Operator types: "The Thousand Yard Stare"

Okay, but what is it?

The eyes: The thousand yard stare, a person looking through or beyond you is a clear sign something abnormal is going on. Whether the person is thinking and putting a plan together, to run, escape, give up, or to assault, is being considered. That look into nowhere is a look inside the individuals mind. He is running through options.

(Emphasis mine) This is the best definition I have seen to date. If you are looking at a particularly hard-looking individual, and he points his face at you and looks right through you, even when speaking to you, he has quite probably been through the School of Hard Knocks. An Operator is deciding whether or not he needs to slit your throat or leave you alone. A murderer is deciding whether he needs to slit your throat or leave you alone. If there are more of them than you, this is possibly a Very Bad Thing for you. If there are more of you than them, it is a sign things might be getting a little ugly, soon.

But not necessarily.

It is also a habit. A habit ingrained in persons habitually aware of the dangers surrounding them. If someone points a Thousand Yard Stare at you, it's time to go from Condition Yellow to Condition Orange. Usually, it's not a sign of imminent trouble. Usually.

The definition is part of a much larger article by Fred Leland about spotting potential threats/criminal activity, which I found linked up at The Things Worth Believing In.