"Look at television" and "look in"

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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Brahman
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"Look at television" and "look in"

Post by Brahman »

A few days ago, I asked about "watching and seeing movies". Thanks for your answer.

I have two related questions:

1. Longman Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs has given an example under the entry for "Look at": "The children spend too much time looking at television."

To my non-native ears, it sounds odd: look at(?)

2. The same dictionary has another sentence under the entry for "Look in": "I don’t intend to look in tonight, there’s nothing worth watching." Here, "look in" has been defined as "to watch television".

Is this "regional"?
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Alan
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Re: "Look at television" and "look in"

Post by Alan »

Both are incorrect as standard usage, and relatively unlikely, in my view, even as dialectal usage.
Are you quite sure of the source of these entries??

(Henceforth please supply edition and page references henceforth for any such dubious usages in books that you may have come across.)
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