site seeing

[James Harbeck]

>most of the webhits for "site-seeing" and "see the sites" are, not
>surprisingly, about websites.  the "see the sites" hits for actual
>places (a walk through Newark, a walk through Queens, etc.) can be
>understood as literally referring to sites -- places of historical or
>cultural interest.  anybody have good cites (hah!) where this
>interpretation is unlikely?

My fault -- I should have been clearer that I was just referring to
the instances I had noted personally on a passive basis. It's not
surprising that websites would avail themselves of the obvious pun.

The uses I've seen, however, are typically evident reanalyses of the
"sightseeing". They usually make sense, of course, in the way that
reanalyses do, but my sense is that the authors most likely are
unaware of the "sightseeing" spelling or at best think it an
incorrect variant; they aren't making a play on words to emphasize a
point. I can find quite a few examples that don't make reference to
historical sites or building sites or anything of the sort. Some
instances that look most likely like "sightseeing" transformed:

Google search "site seeing trip" (515 hits):

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=135866 : "The
package includes 1st class stay at cottage, 4course meal service with
waiter, site seeing trip to wild." -- this is an African safari

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7368 :
"Leisurely site seeing trip around Northern Oklahoma..." -- no
historical sites involved

http://www.outincleveland.com/resources/calendar.asp : "The 'big
events' will kick off with an afternoon site-seeing trip and an
evening WWII USO Canteen-style Opening Reception"

http://www.bornfreefishing.com/site-seeing.asp : "Envision The
Site-Seeing Trip Of Your Life In The Bahamas!" -- cruise ships, fish,
islands

http://www.slackdavis.com/news_article.php/news_id/argval/1704/argname/back_link/argval/index
: "Five injured in crash of Wisconsin site-seeing helicopter"; "The
Bickford family had chartered the R44 Astro helicopter for a
site-seeing trip of the area, officials said."

Google search "site seeing expedition" (81 hits):

http://www.luxehotels.com/index.cfm?PropID=300 : "The concierge will
gladly assist in planning your daily activities which may take you to
exotic places in the Coconino National Forest deep into Red Rock
Country, shopping on Gallery Row or on a site seeing expedition of
this beautiful and natural destination."

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/forum-2854-1-Travel-Georgia-1-forum.html
: "Hello me and my mate are preparing the trip of a life time, I am
wondering what the easiest option it was going from Ukraine -
Georgia, by ferry. It is part of a larger site-seeing expedition that
we are planning."

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g34346-i394-k1052904-Casual_Deep_Sea_Fishing-Islamorada_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
: "Is there any place to charter a boat that can take our whole
family out for a leisurely fishing/site seeing expedition for 2 or 3
hours?" -- southern Florida, in a thread on deep sea fishing

You can also see such as things as "AG Site Seeing"
(http://www.mensaedmonton.ca/), where the reference is not to seeing
the site of the AG (annual gathering) but to seeing the sights in the
area around where the AG is being held.

OED has cites on "sightseeing" from 1824, but nothing at all for
"site-seeing." I wonder if that will have changed by half a century
hence.

James Harbeck.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org