telegraph.co.uk— They are the two magic words which for generations have been the cornerstone of good manners. But research suggests today's Britons are no longer capable of saying 'thank you' when showing gratitude.
Aug 24, 2010View in Crawl 4
I tend to use 'Cheers' as a quick sign of gratitude or out of politeness, like when recieving change or getting out of a taxi. Just for the little things. But I do like to use 'Thank You' for things I feel very grateful for such as gifts or big favours. I feel that 'Thank You' sounds more grateful!
Theres nothing wrong with language adapting because of culture, it should be expected.
I have a friend that says Cheers all the time, it took me some time to adapt to because before I had only heard it used before banging beer mugs together. It took me a couple weeks before I realized he was essentially saying thanks.
Lloyd: That's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?
Lady at bus stop: Austria.
Lloyd: Austria! Well, then. G'day mate! Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!
Lady at bus stop: Let's not.
@dirtylaundry - I guess you must be reasonably young. After Paul Hogan(in the news again today!) released Crocodile Dundee, he did an advertising campaign in the US for Tourism Australia. The catchline was "Throw another shrimp on the barbie"
I'm an American who lived in London for 6 months in the 80's. I never did figure out when to say "cheers" and when to say "thank you." I was always scared I was doing it wrong.
I was just over there for 6 weeks and seemed like they almost ALWAYS used cheers for "your welcome," and sometimes used it for "thanks." So I started feeling fairly comfortable using it for "your welcome," but I generally kept to just "thank you."
It's usually nothing more than an acknowledgement.
Say you're at a restaurant and a waiter has brought the order. You don't want to say thank you everytime he puts a plate or drink down. But cheers works well. Certainly better than pretending he doesn't exist.
Why the hell would you do that? If you feel you just have to say something, then you say "Thank You" when your food is put in front of you. If you have multiple plates, wait until the largest plate is put in front of you (and this is for each course, if he gives you a salad say "Thank You", then when he comes back with your meal say "Thank You" again). Additionally, the person who will be paying the bill will say the final "Thank You" and notify the waiter/waitress that everything is satisfactory.
Maybe Brits are just becoming more rude? I know that in the USA (at least, the central part), 80-90% of people you meet - at businesses, fast food, on the street - all say "Please" and "Thank You". I say both multiple times when dealing with clients, and I use other niceties (such as "Have a great day").Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
This is also happening to the under 35 crowd in Canada. Not sure where it comes from other than our propensity to say "Thank you" when someone says "Thank you". The double "Thank you" sounds odd.
Ta has got to be the most douchey form of thank you I've ever heard, my Aunt says ta and it doesn't sound like "thanks" to me, it sounds more like "gimmie".Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
Hmm. I've always thought the word 'Cheers' should be used when two people were getting good deals on both ends or when you're having a good time at a bar. Saying 'Cheers' after receiving a nice gift just doesn't sound right.
On another note, who says 'Ta' or 'You star 11. All right'? Never heard those phrase in my life.
PROTIP: Don't come to Australia. You will either find yourself dead or in jail with that attitude because every assh**e and their dog says cheers here.
Well, of course if I was in a different country I wouldn't care if someone said "cheers". I was just saying if I was in the U.S. Sorry I wasn't specific. Cheers mate.
You're kidding. I'm a Brit in America, and I hear "you're welcome" just about every time I say thanks about anything. It's almost comical. It sounds very strange to my foreign ears.
But I love how nearly everyone in this comment thread is saying something along the lines of "X IS NOT USED IN MY NARROW SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THIS ARTICLES IS LIES!"
I began noticing the use of "Cheers" this with co-workers located in our in London office. At first I didn't think much but I've been noticing it used more frequently with upper management as well.
Next they should abandon "are you alright". It's their way of saying "whats up", or "how you doing". During my internship in London it took me a while to understand this. When people asked me "if I was alright", I would say yes and ask why, all paranoid. Then i would look in the mirror to see if I looked sick or something.
Wait, "cheers," "ta," "great," and "cool" all mean "thanks"?
Here in America, if someone passes me the salt, and I say "great," they're going to think I'm sarcastically disapproving of their salt-passing technique. Or something.
I was a cashier the other day (in the US) and when a UK woman came to my register she commented on how strange it was that our Debit cards could be ran as VISA or MasterCard (I hear this from Canadians often). Then when I said "Thank You" at the end of the transaction she replied "cheers." It seemed like an overly friendly goodbye to me. I didn't know she meant thanks.
I never knew "cheers" was supposed to mean "thank you". I thought it was more of a general affirmative interjection ending a conversation -- something like "great" or "cool" or "g'day" and so on.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
cranelakeAug 24, 2010Submitter
I'm guessing this might be something to do with the fact we spend so much time down the pub!
semisarcasticAug 25, 2010
And sometimes you just wanna go where everybody knows your name.
saintsfanAug 25, 2010
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
spattyAug 24, 2010
I tend to use 'Cheers' as a quick sign of gratitude or out of politeness, like when recieving change or getting out of a taxi. Just for the little things. But I do like to use 'Thank You' for things I feel very grateful for such as gifts or big favours. I feel that 'Thank You' sounds more grateful!
Theres nothing wrong with language adapting because of culture, it should be expected.
paradigmxAug 25, 2010
I have a friend that says Cheers all the time, it took me some time to adapt to because before I had only heard it used before banging beer mugs together. It took me a couple weeks before I realized he was essentially saying thanks.
alchemyvAug 24, 2010
How about 'thanks mate!' ?
fairdinkummateAug 24, 2010
The Brits might use that - when they're in Australia......
kingaporeAug 25, 2010
Lloyd: That's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?
Lady at bus stop: Austria.
Lloyd: Austria! Well, then. G'day mate! Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!
Lady at bus stop: Let's not.
joecool1986Aug 25, 2010
I was just in the UK for 6 weeks and I heard a lot of use of the word "mate" actually.
timmyftwAug 25, 2010
Actually, Australians mostly just say cheers as well.
thefuzzballAug 25, 2010
We say mate a lot in Manchester, that and pal, which is about as common. You're either a mate person or a pal person :)
dirtylaundry101Aug 25, 2010
As an Australian, I've never seen anyone put a shrimp on the barbie. Where do people get this from?
fairdinkummateAug 25, 2010
@dirtylaundry - I guess you must be reasonably young. After Paul Hogan(in the news again today!) released Crocodile Dundee, he did an advertising campaign in the US for Tourism Australia. The catchline was "Throw another shrimp on the barbie"
doshindudeAug 25, 2010
Demoman?
grahamuk82Aug 25, 2010
Thanks lad
vvcepheiAug 25, 2010
suprisingly, "Cheers mate!" is more common.
greenvortexAug 24, 2010
I'm an American who lived in London for 6 months in the 80's. I never did figure out when to say "cheers" and when to say "thank you." I was always scared I was doing it wrong.
joecool1986Aug 25, 2010
I was just over there for 6 weeks and seemed like they almost ALWAYS used cheers for "your welcome," and sometimes used it for "thanks." So I started feeling fairly comfortable using it for "your welcome," but I generally kept to just "thank you."
areallygoodnameAug 25, 2010
It's usually nothing more than an acknowledgement.
Say you're at a restaurant and a waiter has brought the order. You don't want to say thank you everytime he puts a plate or drink down. But cheers works well. Certainly better than pretending he doesn't exist.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Why the hell would you do that? If you feel you just have to say something, then you say "Thank You" when your food is put in front of you. If you have multiple plates, wait until the largest plate is put in front of you (and this is for each course, if he gives you a salad say "Thank You", then when he comes back with your meal say "Thank You" again). Additionally, the person who will be paying the bill will say the final "Thank You" and notify the waiter/waitress that everything is satisfactory.
Maybe Brits are just becoming more rude? I know that in the USA (at least, the central part), 80-90% of people you meet - at businesses, fast food, on the street - all say "Please" and "Thank You". I say both multiple times when dealing with clients, and I use other niceties (such as "Have a great day").Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
And for those who buried me:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgimson/3671871/the_american_public_is_far_more_polite/
http://meganchaplin.blogspot.com/2006/04/are-americans-too-polite.html
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/good-manners/article27599.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/books/review/Dyer-t.html?_r=1&ref=booksComment is buried, click here to see the rest.
theodenkingAug 26, 2010
I had an American friend who got confused and said "cheerio" instead of "thank you". f**king hilarious.
eddiepotatoAug 25, 2010
Britons also seem favor favour over favor.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Actually, we seem *TO* favour favour over favor.
semisarcasticAug 25, 2010
Well "Cheers" was a pretty good show for it's time.
andrewdbAug 25, 2010
It -still- is a good TV show.
ubiwerksAug 25, 2010
I hate it when people end e-mails with 'Cheers'. It sounds douchey.
juckmanAug 25, 2010
I think it sounds perfectly fine. Don't be so douchey.
Cheers,
juckman
sgxyayAug 25, 2010
Yeah, "cheers" is douchey in America. After reading this, I'll let it slide if the person is British and doesn't know better.
butterbeeAug 25, 2010
Americans using "cheers" sound like total d-bags - the same people have prepared grappa lectures.
In the South Eastern US, the usage of "thank you" is ridiculous. You end up thanking people as you hand over cash for groceries.
dillpiccololAug 25, 2010
This is news?
ianmgullAug 25, 2010
Not if you bury it. The power is yours dillpiccolol.
dillpiccololAug 25, 2010
WOOO BOY SOCIAL MEDIA IS FUN!
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Unless you're using Digg Alpha... where there is no bury.
crickidAug 25, 2010
This account has been closed by the user
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
No, it's not "news". It's a story or an article. I don't get the point of your question.
idiggaponyAug 25, 2010
No, it's "travel and places."
mundusAug 25, 2010
I think Thank You should remain thank you. If it sounds "too formal" maybe they're just not so thankful. My thoughts. Cheers!
cosworth99Aug 25, 2010
This is also happening to the under 35 crowd in Canada. Not sure where it comes from other than our propensity to say "Thank you" when someone says "Thank you". The double "Thank you" sounds odd.
paradigmxAug 25, 2010
I still say thanks, but I know a few people who are slowly adapting to cheers, in all honesty, I've caught myself saying it from time to time already.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Ta muchly.
paradigmxAug 25, 2010
Ta has got to be the most douchey form of thank you I've ever heard, my Aunt says ta and it doesn't sound like "thanks" to me, it sounds more like "gimmie".Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
igotalottastuffAug 25, 2010
Hmm. I've always thought the word 'Cheers' should be used when two people were getting good deals on both ends or when you're having a good time at a bar. Saying 'Cheers' after receiving a nice gift just doesn't sound right.
On another note, who says 'Ta' or 'You star 11. All right'? Never heard those phrase in my life.
thefuzzballAug 25, 2010
Lots of people say Ta, you've just never been out of your basement so you wouldn't know.
igotalottastuffAug 25, 2010
Either that OR you're a presumptuous England douche, while I'm from the States.
blackadderiiiAug 26, 2010
1. Presumptuous "English" douche.
2. TFA IS ABOUT STUFF PEOPLE SAY IN BRITAIN, SO THAT'S WHO SAYS THEM, OBVIOUSLY.
( 3. *he* wasn't being *presumptuous* to base the conversation around "what people say in Britain", you were being fail. )
theodenkingAug 26, 2010
Yeah and you assumed because you've never heard a piece of English slang, in the 'States, it doesn't exist... what does that make you?
bunagaya1Aug 25, 2010
You asked who says 'Ta'. Plenty of people, who don't live in the US, do.
locastusAug 25, 2010
Hey! The internet is AMMURRKEN!
blackadderiiiAug 26, 2010
"<scoff>Stuff they say in Italy? Buon giorno? Ciao? Who says those? I've never heard them in my life!!</scoff>"
"Yeah I'm from Italy, we get those a lot here. You might have heard some Italian if you'd ever left your basement"
"<scoff>LOL I'm From the US you presumptuous Italish asscandle!</scoff>"
saintsfanAug 25, 2010
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
tyrghastAug 25, 2010
/cool story bro
its the telegraph, give it as much credibility as you would the National Enquirer or Fox News
kruseAug 25, 2010
Cool starry bra
kimbomittAug 25, 2010
Cheers, it was from Victoria's Secret, kinda expensive though.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Hardly - how can you compare The Daily Telegraph to Fox News? The Telegraph actually has good journalism.
tylrzilzAug 25, 2010
I blame Liam and Noel. ;)
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Why? What have they got to do with the English language?
justjohn025Aug 25, 2010
If someone I helped moved told me "cheers" for helping them move, instead of thanks, or thank you, I'd punch them in the face
timmyftwAug 25, 2010
PROTIP: Don't come to Australia. You will either find yourself dead or in jail with that attitude because every assh**e and their dog says cheers here.
justjohn025Aug 25, 2010
Well I live in USA and I don't think anyone has told me "cheers" instead of saying thanks. Maybe a few times,
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
no-one AND a few times? ...
justjohn025Aug 25, 2010
what? I said "anyone" correctly
paradigmxAug 25, 2010
Most people I know that use "cheers" will say Thank You when it's something big, like helping them move.
Cheers is mostly a way of saying thanks for the little things, passing a beer, lending a buck, etc.
thefuzzballAug 25, 2010
Wouldn't get you very far in England either, just sayin'
justjohn025Aug 25, 2010
Well, of course if I was in a different country I wouldn't care if someone said "cheers". I was just saying if I was in the U.S. Sorry I wasn't specific. Cheers mate.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Another tip, don't come to New Zealand. People would think you're a f**king dick.
ssomu007Aug 25, 2010
Changing of meaning. we are hard to say thank you. we don't know or forget the meaning of thank. although someone has helped us.
loopy__Aug 25, 2010
We in the Village prefer,
"Be seeing you."
kingbpdAug 25, 2010
Instead of Thank You?
tuneraiderAug 25, 2010
I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN!!!
thatnerdygirlAug 25, 2010
To be fair, nobody (at least in America) seems to say "you're welcome" anymore. It's more like "no problem" (or in Spanish "de nada") or "yep".
drinky72Aug 25, 2010
You're kidding. I'm a Brit in America, and I hear "you're welcome" just about every time I say thanks about anything. It's almost comical. It sounds very strange to my foreign ears.
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
I only use it formally. Usually I just say "no problem." My wayofspeaking is different from a lot of other Americans, as vie lived abroad quite a lot
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
Too many syllables.
belebihAug 25, 2010
"Cheers" I can understand and even use it myself every now and then. But "ta"? "Fab"? "You star"? WTF is that?
vvcepheiAug 25, 2010
I Live in the UK.
Anybody who says "Ta" "Fab" or "you star" (Wtf?) is normally looked at like an alien.
Nobody f**king says that... least not in London/Middlesbrough
theodenkingAug 26, 2010
"Ta" is northern.
But I love how nearly everyone in this comment thread is saying something along the lines of "X IS NOT USED IN MY NARROW SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THIS ARTICLES IS LIES!"
newlAug 25, 2010
"ta" is still quite common here in Australia.
mizuhochanAug 25, 2010
I prefer saying "thank you", so no. Not everyone is rude.
kaiosamaAug 25, 2010
Those crazy Brits.
What next... eating potato chips with fish?
ender52Aug 25, 2010
I can't believe "Smell ya later" replaced "goodbye."
talahramaAug 25, 2010
Smell ya later, Bart. Smell ya later forever.
akaczAug 25, 2010
I began noticing the use of "Cheers" this with co-workers located in our in London office. At first I didn't think much but I've been noticing it used more frequently with upper management as well.
indubitablyAug 25, 2010
To my fellow Americans I ask, can we use this word casually and not come of as douchey anglophiles?
lonestarlizardAug 25, 2010
Not at all. At least, not in Texas anyway.
mackavelli3Aug 25, 2010
Next they should abandon "are you alright". It's their way of saying "whats up", or "how you doing". During my internship in London it took me a while to understand this. When people asked me "if I was alright", I would say yes and ask why, all paranoid. Then i would look in the mirror to see if I looked sick or something.
drinky72Aug 25, 2010
As a British ex-pat in America, I feel the same way when asked "what's up?" because I hear it as "what's wrong?"
tiitarAug 25, 2010
To be fair, "what's up?" can be and is used as "what's wrong" depending on context. Yay language!
micanAug 25, 2010
f**kin lol'd
locastusAug 25, 2010
It's not 'are you alright', it's just 'alright'.
"Alright mate?"
skillelAug 25, 2010
This account has been closed by the user
overlord555Aug 25, 2010
wait...what about "thanks"?
generalobviousAug 25, 2010
What's even better is when hipsters in the US use it as their closing signature
"Cheers, Bob"
WTF? Why are you saying "Cheers" to me? That doesn't make f**king sense.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
gordigorAug 25, 2010
They are British after all. Not that it means much anyway.
immelman42Aug 25, 2010
I always thought Cheers meant Goodbye. Kids these days, with their crazy hippity hoppity jive language! Why back in my day, we used to....ZZZZzzzzzz
idiggaponyAug 25, 2010
Wait, "cheers," "ta," "great," and "cool" all mean "thanks"?
Here in America, if someone passes me the salt, and I say "great," they're going to think I'm sarcastically disapproving of their salt-passing technique. Or something.
wakamezakeAug 25, 2010
You brute! Never pass only salt, remember salt and pepper are a pair.
This fiendish behaviour shall not stand.
bipolarruledoutAug 25, 2010
It's because you only have table salt and I'm accustomed to cracked sea salt. /s
Closed AccountAug 25, 2010
I was a cashier the other day (in the US) and when a UK woman came to my register she commented on how strange it was that our Debit cards could be ran as VISA or MasterCard (I hear this from Canadians often). Then when I said "Thank You" at the end of the transaction she replied "cheers." It seemed like an overly friendly goodbye to me. I didn't know she meant thanks.
atarioAug 25, 2010
I never knew "cheers" was supposed to mean "thank you". I thought it was more of a general affirmative interjection ending a conversation -- something like "great" or "cool" or "g'day" and so on.
scantron27Aug 25, 2010
This isn't new, they've been doing this s**t for years. Personally, I prefer the American, 'no problem'.
roguebladeAug 25, 2010
I like how they say 'slotted' and 'topped'
maniacaltobyAug 25, 2010
Oh for f**k sake. We always say mate, mate.
ubitendoAug 25, 2010
THIS IS NEWS!!!!
nevski264aAug 25, 2010
Cheers!
danbarkerAug 25, 2010
This is a load of crap.
gkiltzAug 25, 2010
British consumers put up with a lot, relative to their counterparts in North America!
djstratAug 25, 2010
Douches!
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
whythefaceAug 25, 2010
What I find ironic is that in a list of 20 ways to say "Thank you" (in Britain), "Thank you" is number 20, which is surpassed by actually saying thank you in three other languages: "merci", "danke", "gracias" (#15, #16, #17).Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.