glance ~ glimpse:
[For the right pronunciation of ‘glance’, please click here & for the right pronunciation of ‘glimpse’, please click here.]
a glance
You take or shoot or have a ‘glance’ when you do it on purpose in order to know. For example, “He took a glance at his watch.” may mean ‘He aimed his eyes at his watch in order to look at it to know the time.’
a glimpse (The Reverend didn’t mean to look; it was accidental… the wind blew hard)
You, however, have or catch a ‘glimpse’ by mere chance, but not on purpose. For example, “He caught a glimpse of Mother Teresa when he was at the airport to see-off his friend.” may mean ‘He did not go there just to see the Mother nor did he look for her at the airport; it was just by chance he saw her.’ And when one has a ‘glimpse’ of something or someone, one may not have a clear view of it or cannot have seen it clearly.
e.g.
She gave him a quick glance and smiled. [on purpose]
He couldn’t resist a sideways/sidelong glance at her. [he looked at her on purpose]
Vicky glanced around the restaurant, expecting to see his friends. [on purpose]
He had a glimpse of a man running across the road. [by chance]
He glimpsed a man running across the road. [by chance]
Exception: She glimpsed at the newspaper weather report before going out. [on purpose, but a very short period of time]
