"Site unseen" or "sight unseen" - which is it?

Which is correct?

  • Site unseen

    Votes: 10 15.9%
  • Sight unseen

    Votes: 39 61.9%
  • Mate, get over it, there are more important things to worry about

    Votes: 14 22.2%

  • Total voters
    63
  • Poll closed .
OK, so I'm a whinger and a pedant (great combination!!)

But I've noticed that both "site unseen" and "sight unseen" are used to describe buying something (particularly property, obviously) without viewing it.

My preference is "site unseen" - as in, "I haven't seen the site".

But I can also understand "sight unseen", particularly for a non-property purchase, like a vehicle. As in, "I haven't had a sight of [thing]".

So which is it?
 
I voted for sight unseen. seems to be the more accepted version, just like "vice versa" vs "vica versa" (this drives me nuts!)

And lately too many RE ads have been saying "3 bedda", "4 bedda". Aargh!

*breathes in and out slowly*
 
if it's a building "site", and yu haven't seen it, then it's "site unseen".

but generally buying something, and you haven't "seen" it before you buy, then it's obviously "sight" unseen - which is really an oxymoron or whatever.
 
It has nothing to do with property, as such. It's about whether you've inspected something. So, you can buy a car ''sight unseen'', a dog ''sight unseen'' or a block of land ''sight unseen''. It simply means you didn't go and inspect whatever it is.
[pedant retreating now]:)
 
It has nothing to do with property, as such. It's about whether you've inspected something. So, you can buy a car ''sight unseen'', a dog ''sight unseen'' or a block of land ''sight unseen''. It simply means you didn't go and inspect whatever it is.
[pedant retreating now]:)

I agree with this version, however if it is a "site" as in a building site, then it could be a "sight unseen site." Or as Ace in the Hole said you could say "I'm buying a site, sight unseen"." For clarity you would need to use the comma.
 
Either is right...or wrong...depending on how you want to look at it. However, i think this is the least of the gramatical errors that REA's and Marketers need to look at. You would swear that many of them never had a high school education. ;)
 
I'm with "sight unseen"

It implies that one has not sighted the asset, which may be a site, house, shed, horse or whatever.

To do so would require one to utilise their eye-site :p :rolleyes:
 
The confusion comes when you wrongly think of sight as a (transitive) verb, such as:
- After 40 days at sea, we sighted land.
- We caught sight of the burglar.

Site is also a noun which is the context in "sight unseen"
Other uses as a noun:
- Let's go sight seeing around Sydney. (later conjoined to sightseeing)
- Let's go see the sights of Sydney.

Unseen is the adjective.
 
Either is right...or wrong...depending on how you want to look at it. However, i think this is the least of the gramatical errors that REA's and Marketers need to look at. You would swear that many of them never had a high school education. ;)

Care to have a quick read of your sig??:D

Boods
 
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