If Winter Comes  +  340744 Mon, 19 Mar 07 08:26 AM I know that a famous line "Here's looking at you, kid." is from the 1942 film Casablanca.  My question is the intepretation of this well-known phrase. What would be the grammatical construction of this phrase? Is it supposed to be interpreted as; "Here is to looking at you, kid.",  meaning I WANT TO TOAST FOR THE FACT THAT I AM LOOKING AT YOU. or, "Here is to I who is looking at you, kid.", meaning I WANT TO TOAST FOR ME WHO IS LOOKING AT YOU. Why there is no "to" after "Here's"? Is it ommitted? Can anybody, please, answer my question? If Winter Comes Joined on Thu, Jan 4 2007 New Member 10 Constructions

	Believer  +  340788 Mon, 19 Mar 07 11:42 AM Hi, I would take a chance and say that this could be an elliptical construction, which meant to be "The one here (i.e., "I") is looking at you, Kid."  Although I don't like this as much as the one above, I  think this also could be "Here is (all of us who are) looking at you, Kid" -- another elliptical construction.   Believer Joined on Mon, Jan 2 2006 Contributing Member 1,969 Constructions

	Grammar Geek  +  340837 Mon, 19 Mar 07 01:27 PM Neither. Don't try to read too much into this one. It's just "Good luck to you and your future endeavors." If he had said "So long and good luck, sweetheart" it would have had roughtly the same meaning, but not been nearly as quoteable. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,506 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Philip  +  340951 Mon, 19 Mar 07 05:16 PM  Grammar Geek wrote: Neither. Don't try to read too much into this one. It's just "Good luck to you and your future endeavors." If he had said "So long and good luck, sweetheart" it would have had roughtly the same meaning, but not been nearly as quoteable. I agree.  It's just a toast, with or without an alcoholic beverage.  It's still common:  here's to you / here's lookin' at you.  Even "here's to/lookin' at us". Philip Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Veteran Member 8,604 At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen Grammar

	If Winter Comes  +  341623 Wed, 21 Mar 07 08:53 AM Thank you for your reply. I was just a bit curious. Language is language. So, sometimes, perhaps, it would be better not to look into too much and accept what they are. If Winter Comes