To People Watch

Idiom: "To People Watch"

Context #1:

Joe: I have to pick up my friend today at the airport.  I hate going to the airport.

Chuck: Really?  Not me!  I love sitting in airports.  It's a great place to people watch!

Joe:  Yeah I guess that's true.

Context #2:

Sally: I went Christmas shopping at the mall last night.  It was so crowded!  There were way too many people.

Bill: Yeah, I know.  Every year before Christmas the mall is a zoo.  I let me wife do the shopping while I find a comfortable place to just sit and do a little people watching.  There are so many interesting things to observe.

Meaning: "to people watch" is an expression used to describe the activity of just watching the different kinds of people in a public place. Usually someone "people watches" just out of curiosity.  This idiom can be found in the book LSI Speaking Transitions. This book is used to teach Level 4 Speaking/Listening at LSI schools. For more information visit:www.languagesystems.com