Don't look at me in that tone of voice.

A characteristically Parker-esque quip, the line turns a common complaint—being spoken to “in that tone”—into a comic impossibility: you can’t literally look at someone “in” a tone of voice. The humor comes from category-mixing (sight vs. sound) and from the implied social situation: a speaker bristling at judgment, condescension, or hostility, yet responding with wit rather than earnest protest. As with much of Parker’s epigrammatic style, the joke also functions as a defense mechanism—deflecting emotional pressure by sharpening language. The line’s durability reflects how neatly it captures everyday irritations and the pleasure of puncturing them with verbal precision.