Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[french frank]

Oh I've always thought of "Not at all" being a response to "thank you". I use it in preference to "You're welcome", which seems to be everywhere these days.

It's the equivalent of 'De nada', 'Bitte', 'Je vouse en prie', 'Prego' &c which are the almost automatic responses to a thank-you. Phatic utterances which oil the wheels of social interaction, like 'You're (more than/very) welcome', 'Don't mention it', 'Hi, y'rawright'.

[gurnemanz]

It's the equivalent of 'De nada', 'Bitte', 'Je vouse en prie', 'Prego' &c which are the almost automatic responses to a thank-you. Phatic utterances which oil the wheels of social interaction, like 'You're (more than/very) welcome', 'Don't mention it', 'Hi, y'rawright'.

No probs.

[vinteuil]

No probs.

... no worries

.

[Serial_Apologist]

No probs.

Yes, I've found myself taking to saying "No problem" when someone bumps into me or cuts in front of me in the supermarket, which does seem rather an odd response, when I think about it. This is an incredibly polite part of the world, as compared with anywhere I've previously lived. People apologise just for occupying a small part of a supermarket aisle as I make my leisurely way through, scanning the shelves in search of whatever it is they want!

[Stanfordian]

Health service workers in my neck of the woods commonly use the term "take care" when saying goodbye to a patient. You hear in the TV programme 'GP's Behind Closed Doors' too.

[Pulcinella]

Yes, I've found myself taking to saying "No problem" when someone bumps into me or cuts in front of me in the supermarket, which does seem rather an odd response, when I think about it. This is an incredibly polite part of the world, as compared with anywhere I've previously lived. People apologise just for occupying a small part of a supermarket aisle as I make my leisurely way through, scanning the shelves in search of whatever it is they want!

I find 'No problem' an especially odd (but not infrequent) response from waiters when I'm ordering food.
One would expect it not to be, or the item should presumably not be on the menu!

[french frank]

No probs.

... no worries

.

Absolutely. Phatic utterances.

[cloughie]

Health service workers in my neck of the woods commonly use the term "take care" when saying goodbye to a patient. You hear in the TV programme 'GP's Behind Closed Doors' too.

I use ‘take care’ - may be an age thing, as most around my time of life need to do so!

[Stanfordian]

I use ‘take care’ - may be an age thing, as most around my time of life need to do so!

Good point cloughie! - Take care, don't be falling now!

I reckon that if someone doesn't say ‘take care’ like the rest of the organisation they might comes across as a being miserable old so and so, or don't want the patient to take care.

[Padraig]

It's the equivalent of 'De nada', 'Bitte', 'Je vouse en prie', 'Prego' &c which are the almost automatic responses to a thank-you. Phatic utterances which oil the wheels of social interaction, like 'You're (more than/very) welcome', 'Don't mention it', 'Hi, y'rawright'.

It's strange that the phrase 'You're welcome' irks Irish speakers when it is translated directly into Irish. They feel that 'welcome (Failte)' is not the right word in response to 'Thank you'. But, 'Ta failte romhat' is in increasingly common use.
They don't like 'Don't mention it' either, because they suspect again it is just a direct lift from English - 'Na h-abair e.'
So what do the purists say? They say 'May it do you good' - 'Go ndeana se maith duit'. Sadly I never have reason to say this in either language so I just phat along with S_A's response - 'Not at all'
.

[LMcD]

You are of course right, and I should have added a !
Sometimes the degree of unctuousness in my response is prompted by the tone of what I'm responding to.


Was it Hughie Green who used to say something like: 'And I mean this most sincerely, folks.'?

Yes - 'I mean that most sincerely'. He was, I've just discovered, the voice of Tony The Tiger in the 1970s advertisements for Frosties.

[french frank]

I use ‘take care’ - may be an age thing, as most around my time of life need to do so!

Hmm. I remember the time before people said 'Take Care' and that when it started to be heard, people thought, 'Ttttttt … soft American saying.'



Or else if there is an occasion when it has an immediate application - '(Now) be careful (won't you'?)'.

[Bryn]

Hmm. I remember the time before people said 'Take Care' and that when it started to be heard, people thought, 'Ttttttt … soft American saying.'



Or else if there is an occasion when it has an immediate application - '(Now) be careful (won't you'?)'.

Whatever. Have a nice day.

[cloughie]

Hmm. I remember the time before people said 'Take Care' and that when it started to be heard, people thought, 'Ttttttt … soft American saying.'



Or else if there is an occasion when it has an immediate application - '(Now) be careful (won't you'?)'.

I use it with care, if it is a throway American thing I don't give a fig - when I use it, it is in a genuine concerning way!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's strange that the phrase 'You're welcome' irks Irish speakers when it is translated directly into Irish. They feel that 'welcome (Failte)' is not the right word in response to 'Thank you'. But, 'Ta failte romhat' is in increasingly common use.
They don't like 'Don't mention it' either, because they suspect again it is just a direct lift from English - 'Na h-abair e.'
So what do the purists say? They say 'May it do you good' - 'Go ndeana se maith duit'. Sadly I never have reason to say this in either language so I just phat along with S_A's response - 'Not at all'
.

When Schoenberg arrived in the United States he was greeted by a group of Musicians, one of whom helped him with one of his suitcases as he got off the boat. Happy to use his first words of English, he said "Thank you". The reply was the idiomatic "You're welcome," which Schoenberg didn't know of, and he thought the man was saying "You are welcome to the United States", and he burst into tears.