 Re: driving is something to behold
Hello Archie
It seems to me that the phrase "something to behold" is based on the cliché "a wonder to behold", and retains some of its sense of "astonishment", "amazement", "I-can-hardly-believe-it-ness".
In other words, the base meaning is strongly positive and relates to a) astonishment b) the visual aspects of the thing described: though it can be (and very often is) used ironically, as in your original context.
Therefore you might ironically describe a friend's newly decorated living room as "something to behold", because "newly decorated" implies a visual element.
But applying it to "disruptive behaviour" doesn't sound quite right, to me, in the context you give.
MrP |