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Re: Grammar - Can

From:Ph. D. <phild@...>
Date:Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 20:11
Roger Mills said:
> Yitzik wrote: >> >> Or what does the phrase "See the man!" mean? >> I've got at least two variants of interpretation: >> "Behold, here is that man!" or "Have a look at >> that man!" > > "See the man!" to me is also quite odd; although > many generations of Americans have learned reading > from a similar series of books (See Spot run! et > al.), I've never heard, nor used, "see" as an > imperative in such a construction. It would be > "Look at...!"
Except in the idiomatic (and dialectical) use meaning to talk with someone with more authority, etc. Someone talking to a coworker: "I'm just doing as I was instructed. If you don't like the way I'm doing it, then see the man!" i.e. "then go talk to my boss." --Ph. D.