Date:  Fri, 17 Oct 1997 13:56:30 -0500
From:  Larry Rosenwald <LROSENWALD[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]WELLESLEY.EDU>
Subject: thank you . . . thank you

    The recent query about "in future" vs. "in the future" prompted
me to ask this. When I listen to the radio, I'm often struck by the
fact that when a host of, say, a talk show, says to his or her guest,
"thank you for being with us," the guest replies "thank you" rather
than "you're welcome." It's my (unsubstantiated) impression that this
replacement is becoming more common, and was considerably less common
when I was growing up (I'm 49). Has anyone else noticed this?
    Best, Larry Rosenwald