look-see

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese Pidgin English look-see.

Noun

look-see (plural look-sees)

1. (informal) A brief examination, a peek or glance.
   • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 43:

     ‘It’s the first native island I ever called at where the whole tribe didn’t come down to the beach for a look-see.

   • 1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 33:

     I'm going up in the Cub to take a look-see.

   • 2012, Jackie Collins, Hollywood Kids:

     You'll do what I do. Meet and greet. Then read through the sides with the actors, unless they're on a look-see.

   I’ve had a look-see at your work, and I think you’ve done a pretty good job of things.

   I'll just take a look-see at the problem and come right back, then we can go to lunch.

   He gave me a quick look-see at what they're working on.

2. A person who serves as lookout or scout.
   • 2013, Jack Campbell, The Lost Fleet:

     Once we have them localized, I can send in some look-sees to get a better idea of how many and whether there's actually a nuke in there with them.

3. A model's audition for photographic work.
   • 2005, Lynne Warren, Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography (page 489)

     The basic use of the comp is to allow an art or casting director to select the model type needed for a particular assignment. This is generally followed by a casting call or a "look-see" for a more detailed evaluation of the models.

   • 2007, Melissa de la Cruz, Crazy Hot (page 270)

     J. is dating P. at NYU and modeling on the side. They're planning to meet us in Paris for spring break so J. can go to some look-sees (and eat some escargot, obv.).

Verb

look-see (third-person singular simple present look-sees, present participle look-seeing, simple past look-saw, past participle look-seen)

1. To make a quick inspection, especially as a lookout or scout.
   • 2015, Zhang Kaiyuan, ‎Donald MacInnis, Eyewitnesses to Massacre:

     I told Kola and he went down in the p.m. to look-see.

   • 2015, John Boom -, The Watch of the Golden Dragon Turtle:

     When I look-saw my brother's sunstone I knew it was mighty powerful magic.

   • 2015, Bill Cariad, It's Only Words:

     Well I've known good and bad times, and laughed till I cried And I've been asked the questions and sometimes I lied I'm what some would call teak, and some would call weak You can look-see but maybe I'm not what you seek.

Further reading

• “look-see”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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Chinese Pidgin English

Verb

look-see

1. see, look at

Derived terms

• look-see-pidgin

Descendants

• → English: look-see

References

• Gow, W. S. P. (1924) Gow’s Guide to Shanghai, 1924: A Complete, Concise and Accurate Handbook of the City and District, Especially Compiled for the Use of Tourists and Commercial Visitors to the Far East, Shanghai, page 106: “Look see:^[sic] look; behold; to investigate.”