Here are a few quotes from the British media:
- But detectives watched on as he landed and hid on the plane for two hours, before flying off to escape justice.
The Guardian, Feb 2008 - Fulham captain Brede Hangeland cannot wait to return to action on Monday after the unusual experience of watching on from the sidelines.
The Independent, Dec 2012 - But watching on from the performance boat it's immediately apparent that our boys are struggling into the breeze
The Daily Telegraph, Sep 2013 - Chris Hughton, the Norwich manager, watched on as Gary Hooper scored and Fraser Forster saved a penalty in win
The Times, Jan 2013 - The 45-year-old had been watching on from the coastline.
The Daily Mail, Sep 2014 - Boris Becker watched on as defending champ Novak Djokovic made light work of Slovakian Lukas Lacko
The Sun, Jan 2014 - With Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt watching on from the stands
BBC, Aug 2014
What's this with watching on? Don't we usually say looking on? A contributor at the language forum Pain in the English wondered about the apparently increasing popularity of this expression amongst sports people (hat tip to 'Hairy Scot'). Not having noticed it before, I decided to investigate.
