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PamQueue Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

The Eye Can See

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/17/local/me-15593

"If Republicans in California don't change on some positions, they're going to be in the minority for as long as the eye can see."

I understand "for as long as the eye can see" to mean "for as long as one can see clearly". But why is "eye" singular and not plural, as most people have two eyes?
  

Top answer

The usual idiom is "as far as the eye can see". "the eye" is used metaphorically for the sense of sight, so the reference is not to eyes literally. For some reason the writer changed 'far' to 'long', possibly to change the reference from a spatial one to a temporal one.

— CalifJim

  • The usual idiom is "as far as the eye can see".
  • "the eye" is used metaphorically for the sense of sight, so the reference is not to eyes literally.
  • For some reason the writer changed 'far' to 'long', possibly to change the reference from a spatial one to a temporal one.
  • Or maybe the writer mistakenly believed that 'long' was the correct word.
  • The meaning, as used here, is 'for a very, very long time'; 'for the foreseeable future'.
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1 Answers
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The usual idiom is "as far as the eye can see". "the eye" is used metaphorically for the sense of sight, so the reference is not to eyes literally.

For some reason the writer changed 'far' to 'long', possibly to change the reference from a spatial one to a temporal one. Or maybe the writer mistakenly believed that 'long' was the correct word.

The meaning, as used here, is 'for
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