I have sometimes been bothered by the overuse of this phrase in America. It becomes so fake. I've heard from a Brit friend that it's not really used over there.
Comments?
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
In the neighborhood where I work, there are many who say "Have a blessed day." I've heard it from folks who never even go to church, too. I think it's a cultural thing.
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
quote:Originally posted by arnie: It's not used over here, apart from by staff at MacDonalds, who, since they are under orders to use it, quite obviously don't mean it.
In that case, arnie, try to start a new meaning for "nice," to wit: obese! Or perhaps remind them of some of the earlier meanings! It seems appropriate that one of the obsolete meanings is "unimportant or trivial!"
My favorite variation on this cliche is one I saw at the Jet Propulsion Lab during the Mars Pathfinder mission. It was a large banner, signed by the team members of a previous mission (can't remember which one) featuring a flat-mouthed smiley face and the caption "Have a nominal day"
A number of years ago, employees at a certain hotel were told NOT to say, "Have a nice day." It could sound 'snide'. Yup, it could...and it often does.
Okay, so many of you don't like the greeting, "Have a nice day!" As I said, I find it friendly and pleasant. What would you prefer? Just "Good-bye?" Or, "Have a great one!" Or nothing? What?
quote:Well, being a literalist, that would confuse me. I'd think, "Why? What's tomorrow? Why would I be coming back?"
Yup - that's actually what I thought at first, too!
Now, back to the beginning of this thread. . .
do you think it really started out as "Hope you have a nice day"? That would take away the "ordering" part of the phrase, and leave it as pleasent wishes for your happiness.
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
quote:Originally posted by BobHale: One which leave US readers mystified.
Tara a bit. (pron guide. tar-rar-a-bit)
I'd say it's pronounced: t@-rar-@-bit. It's quite rhythmical.
Is it a West Midlands-ism? I've never really heard it outside the area, except by fellow Midlanders. Same with 'bost' to mean 'broken' (or 'bostin' to mean 'fab').
quote:Is it a West Midlands-ism? I've never really heard it outside the area, except by fellow Midlanders. Same with 'bost' to mean 'broken' (or 'bostin' to mean 'fab').
I think it is. I can't recall ever having heard it spoken without a WM accent. The similar "Tara for now" and the simpler "Tara" are more widespread.
"Bost" to mean "broken" is really just a WM pronunciation of "bust", but I can't say I've ever heard "bostin'".
Caterwauller asked:
quote:Do you think that came from Tarry a bit?
It's a variant on the more common UK colloquialism "ta-ta", meaning "goodbye". So far as I can see, its origin is our old friend "unknown".
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
See, now I have heard of 'ta-ta.' I think of it as a highfalutin (the dictionary doesn't use a hyphen, which is against my instincts) way of saying "good-bye."
ta-RA from ta-TA shows a north-western consonant shift: [t] between vowels becomes [r]. Another that's written down is lorra for lotta. I'm not sure how widespread it is, but it's a feature of e.g. Liverpool speech under some circumstances.
A Dictionary of Slang gives "tara-a-bit" as "Birmingham/West Midlands use", with "ta-ra" as "Welsh/Midlands/Northern use". "Ta-ta" isn't given a specific area of use, so presumably it's heard across the country.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
I wonder what you wordcrafters think of the phrase "Take it easy!" when saying good-bye to someone. I heard that just today, and I wondered how that phrase developed.
The New Yorker, 3 January 2005, page 63, a (for us) timely cartoon by "Weant" (?) .... The restaurant floor is littered with dollops of nondescript trash and garbage including an overturned wine glass. The wine bottle on the table lies on its side, a puddle of its contents dribbles over the side. Some food remains on the two plates, other utensils are on the floor.
The gentleman's cheeks are puffed out; the lady is behind him, performing the Heimlich maneuver on him.
The smiling waiter, in tuxedo, asks, "How's everything?"
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(yelling for same reason 
