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?

an alternate method ..... "Unless you have other plans, have a real nice day."

I agree, CW, that the phrase is used a lot, though I can't say that I mind it that much. It seems so friendly.

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 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.

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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.

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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!"

Have an uttterly meaningless day, arnie!

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"

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flat-mouthed smiley face and the caption "Have a nominal day"

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For some time there were bumper/window stickers depicting just such a character, with the caption, "Have a day." At JPL, however, yours makes sense!

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Have an uttterly meaningless day, arnie!

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Thank you, Asa. That's nice of you.

We've probably all heard of the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times"!

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We've probably all heard of the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times"!

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Alas, I fear this curse has come true!

Now if you were Frosty the Snowman, would you say, "Have an ice 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.

Again, amnow...welcome!

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?

Thank you, Kalleh. How 'bout, "Enjoy your day."?

Workers at Wendy's are told to end transactions with "See you tomorrow!" in the hopes that they'll build their repeat customers.

One which leave US readers mystified.

Tara a bit.
(pron guide. tar-rar-a-bit)

I had a mock-curmudgeon associate whose response to "Have a nice day!" was, "Don't tell ME what to do!"

How 'bout, "Enjoy your day."?
That's nice, too...but is it any different?

Workers at Wendy's are told to end transactions with "See you tomorrow!" in the hopes that they'll build their repeat customers.

Well, being a literalist, that would confuse me. I'd think, "Why? What's tomorrow? Why would I be coming back?"

One which leave US readers mystified.

It leaves me mystified.

That's US as in U.S.A.

I'm not mystified!

A variant on "Tara a bit" is "Tara for now".

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Well, being a literalist, that would confuse me. I'd think, "Why? What's tomorrow? Why would I be coming back?"

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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.

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Originally posted by BobHale:
One which leave US readers mystified.

Tara a bit.
(pron guide. tar-rar-a-bit)

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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').

Do you think that came from Tarry a bit?

CAT! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK AGAIN! WE'VE MISSED YOU DREADFULLY!!! (I'm yelling so as to be heard across the pond.)

AWWWW...THANKS (yelling for same reason )

If you're still online, turn on your yahoo!

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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').

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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:

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Do you think that came from Tarry a bit?

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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".

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."

Oh, Cat, it is soooo good to see you again!

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.

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I think of it as a highfalutin

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Well, it's certainly not highfalutin over here. Posh folks wouldn't be caught dead saying "ta-ta"!

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.

Posh folks wouldn't be caught dead saying "ta-ta"!

Who would say "ta-ta" then, arnie? Anyone?

Normal folks!

It's probably slightly working-class, but is used by the middle class as well. However, I can't see the Queen saying "ta-ta" to George W Bush.

Here we would say "ta-ta" with this falsely sophisticated, joking sound to our voice (hard to expain that in writing! )

Or, thanks to Tigger, we'd shorten it to TTFN (ta-ta for now).

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.

Do you Brits say "Take it easy?"

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?"

Hilarious, Jerry! Love those New Yorker cartoons!

More New Yorker cartoons

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Originally posted by jerry thomas:
The smiling waiter, in tuxedo, asks, "How's everything?"

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How's everything?

Tinman

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