Reply With QuoteI am english[of sorts] and IMO can't see anything vaguely threatening or annoying about it. why does it annoy you?Originally Posted by raysablade
cheers
mike
:wink:
Probably only for English people, maybe only for me, but why is this instruction/felicitation/threat so annoying?
I know it is always well intentioned but has completely the opposite effect.
I am english[of sorts] and IMO can't see anything vaguely threatening or annoying about it. why does it annoy you?
cheers
mike
:wink:
Oh come on now - have a nice day :wink:
Neither can i, it just grates.
I'm curious to know if it's just my own weakness.
we all have our own "annoy" switch mine gets pressed when people finish every sentence with yeah! :evil:
I will try and remember yours next time you get a watch in!
cheers
mike :wink:
I say it more as a friendly gesture, you know like "have a safe journey back" it is sort of like that.
Thanks,
Andrew
its 'congrats' for me :twisted:
Respect the past, live the present, protect the future
Congrats? Yeah. :wink:
F.T.F.A.
wear in good health innit :)
Must admit it sets my teeth on edge a bit too. Bit like in the same way sportsmen thank god for their victory.
Can't see the offence it just seems to rub me the wrong way.
Enjoy posting in good health :wink:
I think Eddie should create a 'Grump Of the Day' subforum too :lol:
I'm not as think as you drunk I am.
It appears that all the forums serve this purpose quite well (especially Sales Corner). :wink:
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I can't see the issue here, unless of course one is not in good health to start with!
Cheers
Mark
Exactly my point. If you even slightly under the weather, could you be seen to be failing your watch?
guilty as charged
twice recently :wink:
in my defence the first watch i bought here came with that salutation
and i thought it rather polie and the done thing here :bounce:
possibley nicer than
i hope the mainspring dosent pop out and slash yer wrist... :lol:
As i said the fault is all mine, but i suspect the this kind of cynicism is a national characteristic.
Cynicism?I guess that's the British way, but "failing your watch if you're under the weather"? I do not believe the sender means that. Semantics aside I think that most folk use it as an expression of warm wishes and well being;
I lost a pal last night to a stroke and all the 'best wishes' and 'speedy recovery' stuff didn't work and I knew it wouldn't, but one still says it as a way of conveying some kind of humanity (a long way from the severity of this topic I know but the sentiments are the same). If a person cannot freely express his warmth and enjoyment at a another persons good fortune then we may as well get off this forum! I mean, come on, let's be sensible here; we're talking about a turn of phrase, not some voodoo hex, put some perspective on it.
cheers
Mark
I'm afraid I'm with raysablade here... although I really can't quite put my finger on why, and I know I'm being totally unfair and unreasonable in thinking it... it does grate somewhat..
That said, I'm sure I'm becoming less and less tolerant of everything these days...
I'm sure it's our upbringing. Why else would something as well intentioned and innocent as "have a nice day" arouse such scorn?
I must admit it does grate with me sometimes as well..especially from someone i've just bought from..i always take it along the lines of " I hope you survive the kicking from the missus / heart attack you're going to get from having spent so much money" :lol:
I think it is a 'British way' thing too. While the well-wishers intention is all very well and fine, it carries a fawning, supercilious overtone that many Brits just, well, find a bit annoying. So, no, it's not just you! It's almost as though there was a conscious effort to say something other than "nice watch, Champ" and imbue it with some sort of deeper meaning. ...when all it succeeds in doing is getting on some peoples' tits...
I get all irritated by the American habit of holding hand on heart when their national anthem is played- I just find it rather stupid, childish and over-emotive. But then I get irritated by the use of the word 'timepiece' (it's a watch), the phrase 'pan-fried' (it's just fried), 'oven-roast' (just roast)... you get the idea... I have a cynical (ie healthy) disrespect of pompous or ignorant use of language, and although the food-based examples above are probably British, one of my real pet hates, 'obligated' is definitely not one of ours!
Oops, chaged the subject a bit there, I'll get me coat...
Because in the very vast majority of cases when it is uttered, it is insincere. We -- and I am certainly one of them -- who react negatively to "have a nice day" do so because it takes what appears to be a genuine utterance of well intention, goodwill, and sincerity and strips it of all those qualities. What remains is an empty husk of noise that has robbed those who actually are well intentioned and sincere of an expression. It reduces the richness and expressiveness of language, without offering any other benefit in return.
Clueless. :?
I always write this to the buyer after selling a watch. I have always felt it to be a courtous jesture of "innocent kindness"... or perhaps some sort of way of selling myself that by wearing the watch I sold to someone, they would be blessed with excellent health. :)
Why would anyone find this offensive?
Couldn't have written it any better. 8)
So... why are the Brits so darn cynical, anyways? Is it the hideous weather they are forced to live with? I mean gray, cloudy days of drizzle can only make a person so cheery, eh? :lol:
Who says we're grumpy, picky and down right miserable? By the way, it's CHANGED not chaged and the subject was present with you and thus HERE not There and it's MY coat not me coat (which you can wear in good health either way!)
:blackeye:
Grinds on me too,...were they indifferent about your health until you bought the new SD?
Tischadesh (Hebrew) is apparently the origin, so its probobly Moses' fault, not our cheerful cousins across the pond....maybe he started "have a nice day" as well....
Because in the very vast majority of cases when it is uttered, it is insincere. We -- and I am certainly one of them -- who react negatively to "have a nice day" do so because it takes what appears to be a genuine utterance of well intention, goodwill, and sincerity and strips it of all those qualities. What remains is an empty husk of noise that has robbed those who actually are well intentioned and sincere of an expression. It reduces the richness and expressiveness of language, without offering any other benefit in return.
I'm sure you are going to ignore me, Draz, being on your List as I am, and I may even agree on a bit of what you just said above, but the other day when I was still bantering --- American style --- with you and laughing about it over here, you got genuinely upset.
There's something dichotomous in there because if you hate "have a nice day" and "wear it in good health" and such, you should have loved what I said to you.
In fact, I think, old Swedish buddy, that you might be developing a rather narrow band of interpersonal discourse that you find non-irritating.
I am still bantering, by the way, but I don't know if you want to take it like that :) (and, no, I won't say it but thought you might like the smiley face just to set the right mood), Rollon
I say........old chap.......ahemmmm
( As some one once said : The continentals have their sex lives, the english, their hot water bottles.)
Wow! Who knew such repressed anger lies in the forum.
Oh come on - you post a picture of your new watch. Someone takes the time to read your post, and even more time to reply and say something to the effect of "nice watch, wear it in health" and it gets your back up. I've posted that several times - and it's a genuine attempt to say something nice to a fellow forum member. I wouldn't say it to someone or the street (or if I was a cashier) so it's not in the same league as "have a nice day".
Sure it's a throwaway comment. But it's only a "wow look at my new watch" thread.
What's next - we should stop saying "Good evening" or "Good night" or even "Good bye" when we leave the pub - because we might not in fact mean it and not really, really care for the fate of the person we are wishing it to. What if the landlord we say this greeting to should be fighting with his wife and not have a good night. Perhaps we are responsible then in some way for getting his hopes up. :shock:
I say up the valium dose and find something else to get annoyed about! :D ....like parking attendants or Gordon Brown. :D
i like it :D
Hey Karl, when you get that neat ZEX-ETA of yours back from Benson with its new custom installed TripleLock crown and screw-in crown tube WEAR IT IN GOOD HEALTH :bom:
:toothy4: HAVE A NICE DAY :wave:
:lol:
Just like Guinness... Brilliant!
Cheers Rollon my freind 8) :sunny: :thumbleft:
I like it too.
I think the particular reason is the sincerity with which the sentiment is almost always offered on this forum. I also think that as a token of friendship, it's hard to beat in the circumstances. Wishing someone good health has an ancient and honourable pedigree.
Im certain that were you to show off your newly arrived timepiece to 99% of the Great Unwashed Non - WIS world, they'd either be indifferent or hostile. Here, however, you can be sure of an appreciative and knowledgeable audience. And let's face it, the only people worth impressing are those who know what you are talking about.
Sante
David
I would say "health to wear", same thing as the initial statement i think, but it is meant as a comment of good will, nothing more nothing less, not meant to be insincere in any way just wishing the wearer / owner of a new watch all the best................which i suppose in itself could be accused of the same sentiment :?
But on the subject.....................the ones that get me are the sentences peppered with "you know" or "done" rather than "did" i.e. "the lad done a great job today you know, he done it for the team you know without him scoring you know we wouldnt have won it you know". Match of the Day is such a great place for these type of comments :wink:
Nev.
this is all just light-hearted fun "at the end of the day" isn't it? yeah?
it's like: ... " then he turns round and says ... so i turn round and say ... " - why don't you just face each other in the first place?
as for "wear it in good health", i think it's a good sentiment which fits nicely with the friendliness of this forum, by and large. when you consider how stressed and tetchy it can get on some topics it's good to remember that we're talking here about something that is really only somewhere between a material possession and a hobby, and a message of good will and wishes for good health are a good thing.
that said, we all have sayings that get our goat - know what I mean?
Nice one Nev - professional footballers (except graham lesaux) get confused with tense because they are taught by the FA to speak only in the past perfect tense: "i've looked up and i've seen Nobsy and i've called for the ball and he's laid it off and i've gone past me man and JT's taken me from behind right up the inside channel..." etc.
As a brit, things like "wear it in good health" get up my nose. It seems to be part of our national character to look for irony in every sentence and situation. The danger with this is that we scoff at something that is actually just what it appears to be, sincere good wishes.
I envy the lack of cynicism that seems to go with such sentiments when spoken by an American. Perhaps it's the German influence on their culture. It's certainly not the product of the hoary old "Americans don't get irony" cliche, which is patently nonsense. Maybe they just like to say what they mean then get on with other business.
Missing you already :mrgreen:
This one rankles with me too. It has indeed become as spurious and meaningless as "Have a nice day".
You're right, though - perhaps if we all lived in sunny California we'd feel differently.
Perhaps something along the lines of "Good luck with it" might be better? :wink:
How about "Flip it without loss"? :lol:
Or just "Enjoy!" :D
I think i might have got to the bottom of this. Despite everyone's efforts I'm uncomfortable with all of the suggestions above.
I think it's because the concept of wishing an emotion or a state on another person is alien to me. However well intentioned it feels overbearing and maybe even a little insolent.
The valedictions we commonly use in our jobs like "regards", "best wishes" and "thank you" reflect ourselves and our emotions rather than those of the person we are communicating with.
I and a lot of English people take this to the ridiculous extreme of apologising when someone inadvertently bumps into us.
Though I would never say/write "wear it in good health," I have no problem with people saying/writing it.
What I do find annoying is "I pulled the trigger..." That is just silly.
Posting Permissions