That Is Your Lookout: The British Way of Saying Not My Problem
A lookout is a person watching, the place they watch from, or a matter of concern. The last sense is British and rather sharp.
A lookout is someone keeping watch, or the place they keep watch from. British English adds a third sense that visitors find puzzling: *that is your lookout* means it is your own responsibility and your own problem, delivered with the flat cheerfulness of someone declining to help.
- A person keeping watch. *He acted as lookout.*
- A high place for watching. *A lookout over the bay.*
- Someone's own concern (British). *If he misses the train, that is his lookout.*
- On the lookout for — actively watching for. *On the lookout for bargains.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | lookout | A good lookout. |
| Plural | lookouts | Coastal lookouts. |
| Verb phrase | look out | Look out below. |
| Phrase | on the lookout | On the lookout for work. |
| Related | vantage point | A high vantage point. |
How it is used in a sentence
- One of them kept lookout by the door.Keep lookout, without an article.
- The lookout gives a clear view of the harbour.The place.
- If he will not read the rules, that is his lookout.British, and slightly severe.
Watching words
- Lookout — a person or a place for watching
- Sentry — a soldier standing guard
- Watchtower — a structure built for observation
- Vantage point — anywhere with a good view
- Crow's nest — the lookout platform on a ship's mast
A noun made from the phrasal verb *look out*, recorded from the eighteenth century, first at sea. The responsibility sense is nineteenth-century British.
What does *that is your lookout* mean?
That the consequences are yours alone. It is a way of refusing responsibility, common in British speech.
Lookout or look-out?
One word is standard now. The hyphen survives in some older British writing.