show
ʃoʊ
Show is not displaying — it is lifting the hidden thing up to someone's eyes
The picture Something that was out of sight rises until it sits plainly at another person's eye level. See is what comes into your own eyes; show is lifting a thing up in front of someone else's.
Where the picture shows up in show
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from the pocket to their eyes
Show me your ticket, please.
ʃoʊ miː jʊr ˈtɪkɪt pliːz
Tickets, please.
A ticket folded in a pocket rises until it is level with the inspector's eyes.
Like tell, show is followed straight away by the receiver: show me.
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walking ahead so they can see
Can you show me to my seat?
kæn juː ʃoʊ miː tuː maɪ siːt
Could you take me to my seat?
You follow an attendant's back and the seat you wanted appears in front of you.
Show + person + to place is leading them while the way stays visible.
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running the steps with your hands
Let me show you how to use this machine.
let miː ʃoʊ juː haʊ tuː juːz ðɪs məˈʃiːn
Let me run you through this machine.
Instead of words, a hand presses the buttons first and spreads the order out in front of you.
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the hidden thing rising on its own
The coffee stain still shows on the shirt.
ðə ˈkɔːfi steɪn stɪl ʃoʊz ɑːn ðə ʃɜːrt
The coffee stain is still there on the shirt.
The shirt comes off the line and the brown mark has risen back through the cloth.
With a thing as subject it means it comes through and can be seen.
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paper lifting the result up
The test results show nothing serious.
ðə test rɪˈzʌlts ʃoʊ ˈnʌθɪŋ ˈsɪriəs
Nothing worrying in your results.
The doctor turns the sheet around and lifts the line of results to the patient's eyes.
All of it in one picture
Show is the act of lifting something to eye level. Lift the ticket out of a pocket and it is an inspection; put your own back in front and walk them to the seat and it is guidance; lift your hands and run the steps in front of them and it is teaching. When a stain you tried to hide rises by itself, it shows, and when a sheet of paper lifts the result up, the result shows.