Around here, as far as I know, a "sight for sore eyes" is something NOT good.
Look at that pile of dirty dishes, it's a sight for sore eyes.
As in, it looks aweful. I would take "a read for sore eyes" to mean something NOT pleasant to read.
Maybe you'll have to ask the author...
Jon
Around here, as far as I know, a "sight for sore eyes" is something NOT good.
Look at that pile of dirty dishes, it's a sight for sore eyes.
As in, it looks aweful. I would take "a read for sore eyes" to mean something NOT pleasant to read.
Maybe you'll have to ask the author...
Jon
I live in the West Midlands and I always thought it had the same meaning as Yon until someone from Devon told me I was a sight for sore eyes. I thought they were being rude and telling me I looked a mess!!!![]()
May I return to the original topic, and say I find the expression "a read for sore eyes" very strange. It borrows from "a sight," but since reading a book is a lengthy process, and nothing like the instantaneous recognition of a well-met friend-- how do you escape the absurdity of the idea that extended reading relieves sore eyes? No matter how well-written a book is, if your eyes are fatigued when you sit down to read it-- well aren't they going to get more so as you continue to read?
Seems to me an unintentional contradiction is set up which makes the expression comical, in a painful sort of way.
Oh Mr foxfirebrand is there no poetry in your soul?It is difficult to ascertain without more context but perhaps the writer was knowingly perpetrating a bad pun.
I hear an ox lumbering around not far from my burrow. Gee I hope he doesn't step in one of my exit-strategy holes and wrench a shank in it.
If this is an insult then I take it on the chin without cavil. I support freedom of expression and hold no grudges. Peace brother.