Question: meaning: to see sb. off

Question

Hello,I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off"but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean???Thanks,C.L.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off" but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean??? Thanks, C.L.[/nq]
It means to go to the place that someone is leaving from in order to say goodbye to them:
- My girlfriend saw me off at the airport.
dwjo

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off" but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean???[/nq]
This has two opposite meanings.
#1 means to greet on departure, as
when X takes his daughter to the airport to see her off for her first term at a distant college. This is the most common usage of see off in Britain.
#2 means to escort and exclude: if you try to enter Michael Jackson's California ranch with your camera his guards will see you off the premises. This
usage seems rare in Britain, more common in the
USA (which is a bit paradoxical, if irony were the basis of the prhase.)

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello, I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off" but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean??? Thanks, C.L.[/nq]
Dictionaries for native English speakers very rarely use forms like "to see sb. off." The abbreviations like "sb." are mostly used in EFL- or ESL-oriented dictionaries. You want to look for the phrasal verb "see off." Here's the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary entry (s.v. 'see'):

('see') With adverbs in specialized senses:
see off (a) be present at the departure of (a person); (b) (esp. of a dog) put to flight, chase off;
(c) colloq. ward off, get the better of;
(d) /see off the new ball/ (Cricket), bat until the shine has been removed from the ball, esp. at the start of an innings.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off" but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean???[/nq]
[nq:1]This has two opposite meanings. #1 means to greet on departure, as[/nq]
In the US, we would not greet someone on departure, only on arrival. We would say good-bye on departure, or something like that.
[nq:1]when X takes his daughter to the airport to see her off for her first term at a distant college. ... in Britain, more common in the USA (which is a bit paradoxical, if irony were the basis of the prhase.)[/nq]
I believe you that it's more common in the US than Britain, but just be clear, it's much less common than #1, because friendly departures are far more common than forced departures. I've seen the phrase used on tv or movies but in my own personal life I've never seen someone off like that, and I've never seen anyone else do it either. Partly because I don't have any guards.

That is, you're right, people only use this phrase as you did, when A asks B to see C off, or B tells A that he saw C off. A would not likely tell C that he was seeing him off. It's too hostile except for the tough guy in some movies, who wants to make clear how tough he is.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]This has two opposite meanings. #1 (as) when X takes ... bit paradoxical, if irony were the basis of the prhase.)[/nq]
[nq:1]I believe you that it's more common in the US than Britain, but just be clear, it's much less common than #1, because friendly departures are far more common than forced departures.[/nq]
Obviously no.2 is less common, in both AmE and BrE, because the occasion for it arises less often. But I think it's also used in BrE in a less aggressive way, as when one declines an offer made with unwelcome persistence. I suppose this derives from the literal "seeing off the premises" of a door-to-door salesman by the householder. There's always a mild sense of triumph when one sees someone off in such circumstances, with no need for firearms or guard dogs or even yelling.
Alan Jones

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: "to see sb. off" but I could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean???[/nq]
[nq:1]This has two opposite meanings. #1 means to greet on departure, as when X takes his daughter to the airport to see her off for her first term at a distant college. This is the most common usage of see off in Britain.[/nq]
So it does not mean to "break up", does it?
[nq:1]#2 means to escort and exclude: if you try to enter Michael Jackson's California ranch with your camera his guards ... in Britain, more common in the USA (which is a bit paradoxical, if irony were the basis of the prhase.)[/nq]
Interesting. In the first case we have a case of "seeing sb off" and in the second case we have a case of "seeing sb off sth". So we can easily distinguish the two cases.

Usenet · Answer

Well, all in all I hate that phrase cause I cannot tell whether the other person is being friendly or unfriendly. But when someone tells me they are going to see me off, I may be a little crazy but, in my mind, I hear something like: "I'll see you *** off!". Hey, if someone is going to see me off they don't need to tell me. Grrr.. it makes me feel like saying: "I'll see YOU off, with emphasis on the word OFF!". F. OFF
Sorry people, I have a big problem with this expression. *** forbid I ever hear it again!
Why couldn't anyone invent some words like "I'll see you out" "I'll see you through" or simpler, "I'll see you going", or "I'll see that you make it too the exit" or something.

Sorry, but the word off is not that common, and the only other expression it reminds me of is "*** off". Hence I hate it.

Say "I'll SEE you OFF" to me and I'll say:
"I don't want to see you ever again!"
Regards,
C. L.
(and thank you for your explanations!)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Well, all in all I hate that phrase cause I cannot tell whether the other person is being friendly or ... hate it. Say "I'll SEE you OFF" to me and I'll say: "I don't want to see you ever again!"[/nq]
Can't you tell whether an "off" is friendly or hostile by the circumstances and the expression in the speaker's voice and face? "I'll see you off" is almost always a friendly promise to be at the airport or rail station when one's friend or relative is leaving for a holiday or a new experience such as going to college. It's not the same as just taking the person to the point of departure: it's a promise to stay with them until the last possible moment and wave them goodbye.
Having said that, I've also remembered a slightly different nasty use in British English: "to cheat or defraud". If some salesman persuades you to pay a high price for something you later realise you could have bought for much less, he has "seen you off".
But you must cure yourself of the belief that "off" usually has a nasty sense. Knitters cast off their work as they complete their woolly hat, people start off on the journey of a lifetime, after a nice warm drink you may drop off to sleep in your armchair, and I'm sure there are many other examples. The "off" in "*** off" or "*** off" just means "away" - it's the other word that creates the offence you feel. "Off" is neutral.

Alan Jones

Usenet · Answer

Martin Ambuhl typed thus:
[nq:2]Hello, I checked at http://www.m-w.com/ for the exact meaning of: ... could not find it. What exactly does this expression mean???[/nq]
[nq:1]Dictionaries for native English speakers very rarely use forms like "to see sb. off." The abbreviations like "sb." are mostly ... off (a) be present at the departure of (a person); (b) (esp. of a dog) put to flight, chase off;[/nq]
My PILs say this in reference to their dog, but I had never heard it before meeting them, which probably indicates that it's a northern or Yorkshire usage.
e.g. "We met another dog in the park, but Sam saw him off".

David
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