also: ちめ
noun
bloodshot eyes
Literally eyes that are red or bloodshot, often from strain, anger, or lack of sleep.
徹夜で仕事をして、血眼になっていた。
After working all night, my eyes were bloodshot.
noun
Only with reading ちまなこ
Used in the phrase 血眼になる or 血眼で, meaning to do something frantically or desperately, as if one's eyes are bloodshot from intense effort.
彼は血眼になって犯人を探した。
He searched for the culprit in a frenzy.
血眼で仕事を探している。
I'm desperately looking for a job.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling, common in everyday writing.
Rare kanji spelling for the reading ちめ, mostly historical or literary.
必死 means 'desperate' or 'frantic' in a life-or-death sense, while 血眼 emphasizes the physical manifestation of desperation (bloodshot eyes) and is often used in set phrases.
Compound of 血 (blood) and 眼 (eye). The literal meaning 'bloodshot eyes' extended to a metaphorical sense of doing something with desperate intensity.