A sight for sore eyes

Some shops in the English-speaking countries use the phrase " a sight for sore eyes " on their advertisements or even make that the name of their business. What kind of shops are they? An immediate answer given by most of you would be eyecare shops. However, this expression is widely used by a variety of businesses, including gift stores and fashion companies. 

The phrase " a sight for sore eyes " dates back to " A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation” by Jonathan Swift in 1738. Its original form is: 

" The sight of you is good for sore eyes. " 

Literally, it means that the appearance of you is healing ailing eyes. However, its implied meaning is that the unexpected appearance of you is very good to see. The simplified modern version, " a sight for sore eyes " , was first used in a British monthly magazine in 1826. 

Apart from describing a welcome visitor, this idiom can be used to describe a thing which someone is pleased or relieved to see. 

At the end of the long meeting, the buffet was a sight for sore eyes. 

在英語國家，有些商店在廣告中使用這個語句，甚或用此來命名自己的商店。它們是甚麼種類的商店？大部份人的即時答案會是眼睛護理店。不過，這個用語在各行各業中獲廣泛使用，包括禮品店和時裝公司。

A sight for sore eyes這個短語追溯到1738年喬納森．斯威夫特所著的《溫雅與機智談話全集》。其原句是： 

The sight of you is good for sore eyes. 

從字面意義來說，它的意思是你的出現，治癒了患病的眼睛。然而，它的隱含意義是樂於見到你突然到訪。其簡化的現代版本a sight for sore eyes最初在1826年一本英國月刊中出現。

除了形容受歡迎的訪客之外，這個習語還可以用來形容賞心悅目或令人感到欣慰的事物。

在冗長的會議結束時，看到自助餐真使人高興（a sight for sore eyes）。  

  
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