# pitää silmällä



## akana

I have run across _pitää silmällä_ a few times, but often the exact meaning has been somewhat ambiguous. I know it can mean "to keep an eye on something":

_Pidä silmällä vauvaa, jottei putoa alas portaita._

But can it also mean "to keep an eye *out* for something?" In English, "keep an eye on" implies that the object is definitely there, whereas "keep an eye out for" implies that the object may or may not be there. Would these sentences work? 

Pidä silmällä krokotiileja. Ne saattaisivat olla piilossa missä tahansa.
Pidä silmällä halpoja hintoja bensiinistä. Olen kuullut, että hinnat laskevat.

Paljon kiitoskia!


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## Hakro

akana said:


> I have run across _pitää silmällä_ a few times, but often the exact meaning has been somewhat ambiguous. I know it can mean "to keep an eye on something":
> 
> _Pidä silmällä vauvaa, jottei putoa alas portaita._
> 
> But can it also mean "to keep an eye *out* for something?" In English, "keep an eye on" implies that the object is definitely there, whereas "keep an eye out for" implies that the object may or may not be there. Would these sentences work?
> 
> Pidä silmällä krokotiileja. Ne saattavat olla piilossa missä tahansa.
> Pidä silmällä bensiinin hintoja. Olen kuullut, että hinnat laskevat.
> 
> Paljon kiitoksia!


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## akana

Kiitos, Hakro!

On a second read-through of my post, I fear my examples weren't very unambiguous, either. The important subtext is that with "keep an out _for_," the object is not currently visible, and possibly a rare sighting, but may (or may not) appear at some point. Gas prices are pretty consistently visible, so my example was poorly considered. And crocs, well... Here's another attempt:

_Ai menet himalajaan? Pidä silmällä jetiä!
(Tuskin näet jetin, mutta etsi sitä kuitenkin.)_


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## Hakro

akana said:


> _Ai menet Himalajalle? Pidä silmällä jetiä!
> (Tuskin näet jetiä, mutta etsi / varo sitä kuitenkin.)_


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