Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 21:47:03 -0400 From: "MELISSA S. SMITH" Subject: Re: thank you . . . thank you On Fri, 17 Oct 1997, Peter McGraw wrote: > At some point during my teens (in the late '50s), I got the idea that it > was impolite to say, "You're welcome," which up to that time I had always > said without thinking, and that one should always thank the person back > instead, to give the impression that, "Oh, the obligation is all mine," or > something. I wasn't aware at the time that everybody else had gotten this > idea, but it seems to me, too, that I rarely hear "You're welcome" > anymore. I'm not sure whether this is because others have taken to saying, > "Thank you (back)!" or whether it's because more informal replies have > taken over--such as "Sure!", "You bet!" (mainly in the West, I think), and > (in recent years) "No problem!" > > Peter McGraw > > > On Fri, 17 Oct 1997, Larry Rosenwald wrote: > > > 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 > > > Peter, "You're welcome" is a rather meaningless saying. It has been replaced with "No problem", and "Don't mention it". This tells the person that said "Thank you" that you were more than happy to lend a hand and that recognition is not necessary. Melissa S. Smith