# Ending a letter/email with "best" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954 "2010-07-16T18:46:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/1 "2010-07-16T18:46:09Z")
Lately I’ve been noticing people sign off in emails like this: > [@](#): > > Hi Bob, > > Hope everything is going well. > > Best, > > Alice I know one person who does it, then noticed several more over the last few weeks. What is this supposed to mean, an abbreviation of “best wishes” or something? It just looks a bit unnatural to me. Do you use this? Why? Is it common in certain places? I don’t think the individuals in question are from the same region or culture. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/2 "2010-07-16T19:16:15Z")
Best Wishes or Best Regards, I think. I still use Best Regards a lot. I think I picked it up when communicating with colleagues from England. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/3 "2010-07-16T19:35:00Z")
I use it because I am the best… ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/4 "2010-07-16T19:38:15Z")
Best Wishes, Best Regards, All the Best (to you), etc. Terribly civilized, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/5 "2010-07-16T19:44:51Z")
I hope all the best things in the world happen to you, **Chessic Sense** ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/6 "2010-07-16T19:49:36Z")
I hate it. My boss does it, and I think [del]she[/del] it is prissy. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/7 "2010-07-16T19:50:03Z")
I use it occasionally. It’s just short for Best Regards. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/8 "2010-07-16T20:13:18Z")
My internet-school prof’s were all doing this, almost like they were instructed to. Either ‘All the best’ or just ‘Best’; both sound affected to me. ---
**Author:** ![aesop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/9 "2010-07-16T20:24:12Z")
I’ve seen senior staff do it on occasion. And one of my colleagues does it regularly. I agree it seems affected. If you’re too busy to write “regards” then why waste all that time writing out B-e-s-t. Just slap a “B” down there and be done with it… B Aesop ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/10 "2010-07-16T20:39:42Z")
“Best.” It’s quick and easy to type, it’s warmer than “Sincerely,” but not as intimate as “Hugs!” and it translates into the shorhand for a lot of colloquial sign-offs, such as those \*\*In Winnipeg \*\*listed. Never thought it sounded affected, not to my ears. (Eyes?) Need an alternative? At work, I send a bazillion emails a day, many of which are not requests but simply confirmation that X has been done, so “Thanks, Purple” isn’t the way to go, since, really, I’ve nothing to be grateful for, as I’m the one who’s done the work. “Have a nice day” is a tad formal and dry for me, so I’ve been using “Cheers! Purple” as a standard sign-off. Sounds friendly without being too intimate, methinks, and no one’s said otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/11 "2010-07-16T20:39:42Z")
I prefer that folks sign their letters to me with “Your obedient servant,” but that’s just me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/12 "2010-07-16T20:58:23Z")
> [@aesop](#): > > If you’re too busy to write “regards” then why waste all that time writing out B-e-s-t. Just slap a “B” down there and be done with it… If you’re too busy to write out “I give you my best regards,” why bother writing the letter at all? :rolleyes: Anything formulaic is going to be prone to shortening, especially as the communication gets more casual. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/13 "2010-07-16T21:51:57Z")
Sounds weird to me. Either use nothing before my signature, or often “Regards”. For friends I might use “Take care”. I’ve been known to use “Fervently yours” if I want to be funny. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/14 "2010-07-16T22:13:15Z")
I think Europeans use it a lot-- it’s the standard in Dutch, if memory of experience serves correctly. Not considered inordinately informal-- friendly semi-formal. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/15 "2010-07-16T22:18:40Z")
I’m an American, and I’ve closed with “best” for as long as I’ve had emails. It would not be the first time I’ve been called prissy, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/16 "2010-07-16T22:41:27Z")
This seems incredibly common in academia, and I have mostly noticed it used among males. My professors, my husband’s professors and **Sr. Olives** himself (as a TA) uses it. Another common one is ‘‘Warmly.’’ I don’t feel particularly strongly about it one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/17 "2010-07-17T00:04:14Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > This seems incredibly common in academia, and I have mostly noticed it used among males. My professors, my husband’s professors and **Sr. Olives** himself (as a TA) uses it. Another common one is ‘‘Warmly.’’ > > I don’t feel particularly strongly about it one way or another. I have seen Warmly or Best Regards but never best alone. Best what? It seems stunted. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/18 "2010-07-17T02:31:15Z")
There are three ways I sign off on emails: “thanks,” “love,” and “best.” I thus end up using “best” a lot as the default when neither of the other two is appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![aesop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/19 "2010-07-17T07:01:18Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > If you’re too busy to write out “I give you my best regards,” why bother writing the letter at all? :rolleyes: Because I use email at work to convey messages that are necessary, relevant and important. Unlike my postings on a message board. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954/20 "2010-07-17T17:56:11Z")
> [@aesop](#): > > If you’re too busy to write “regards” then why waste all that time writing out B-e-s-t. Just slap a “B” down there and be done with it… > > B > > Aesop This is already happening. I know people who use the following email valedictions: /R for regards B/R for best regards W/R for warm regards [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ending-a-letter-email-with-best/546954.md?page=2)