# I just sneezed. What do you say? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 23, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786 "2004-06-23T12:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/21 "2004-06-23T14:45:50Z")
“Ewww, yecch!! I hope you aren’t contagious, man!” ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/22 "2004-06-23T14:49:31Z")
“What the hell was **that**?!?” Or, “bless you.” ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/23 "2004-06-23T14:50:21Z")
1. “Bless you” 2. “Bless you again!” 3. “That’s enough!!!” 4. “I’ve warned you once…” No one sneezes more than four times in my prescence. 😉 Grim ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/24 "2004-06-23T15:06:05Z")
At work: Gesundheit To BF: Sneezer! ---
**Author:** ![citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/25 "2004-06-23T15:31:45Z")
“May the forces of evil become confused on their way up your nostrils.” ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/26 "2004-06-23T15:39:39Z")
In public, I always say “Bless you” to anyone I hear sneeze within earshot. I’ll apologize in advance to anyone bothered by that. I don’t expect a response. At home when my husband or my brother or sister sneezes the sequence is this: Family member: SNEEZE! (we’re all loud sneezers) Archergal: _Choo!_ \ _toy_ It comes from having dogs, ya know? Chew toys? Ok, maybe family humor isn’t very portable. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/27 "2004-06-23T15:39:41Z")
Bless you! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/28 "2004-06-23T15:52:37Z")
Hm, gesundheit in general. If I am particularly absent minded when someone gesundheits me for sneezing I might reply that good health is better than ill health in german but I also had a german nanny and it creeps in when I am not paying attention…=\ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/29 "2004-06-23T16:00:04Z")
Nothing, but sometimes when Ardred sneezes I’ll yell HEALTH as loud as possible. It makes us giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/30 "2004-06-23T16:05:45Z")
One sneeze: Gesundheit! Second sneeze: Gesundheit wieder! Third sneeze: All right, knock it off! ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/31 "2004-06-23T16:51:57Z")
Mazel Tov Dont ask I dont know why… when I sneeze I’ll say something like “eww that one was squishy” But I have really bad allergies so a sense of humor makes the summer a bit more tolerable. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/32 "2004-06-23T17:01:05Z")
If it’s someone I don’t know, I don’t say anything. If I know them, I’ll fake sneeze and time it so I finish at the same time they do. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/33 "2004-06-23T17:01:47Z")
Nothing, or You are SOO good lookin! People at school yell “BLESS YOU!” across the room while the teacher is talking. I know they are being polite, but isn’t that streaching it? ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/34 "2004-06-23T17:08:23Z")
Nothing, or You are SOO good lookin! People at school yell “BLESS YOU!” across the room while the teacher is talking. I know they are being polite, but isn’t that streaching it? ---
**Author:** ![Pyrrhonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pyrrhonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyrrhonist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/35 "2004-06-23T17:30:04Z")
I prefer “Gesundheit” most of the time. Never, never, never “Bless You!” However, when I sneeze by myself, I usually say “Horse sh!t!” or “Merde Alors!” My wife is worried that I may forget myself say this in public too loudly one day. I have no qualms about sneezing and swear in front of her. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/36 "2004-06-23T18:10:50Z")
Forgot one. Mr. S has allergies, so he sneezes and blows his nose a lot. Sometimes after a couple of honks, I’ll say, “Bond. James Bond.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/37 "2004-06-23T18:20:07Z")
> [@ThatDuckIsEvil](#): > > ok, hijack here, but after you sneeze yourself, do you say “excuse me”? I have gotten into the habit to saying that because one semester in college I sat next to a veyr well-mannered man who would always say that after he sneezed. 10 years later I still do it. > > I think I acknowledge my own sneezes with an “excuse me” moreso than anyone saying “bless you” Yes. Even when I’m alone. Just force of habit. I personally say “bless you” but only to friends and family\* and not all the time either. Just depends on my mood. \*I sometimes get odd looks from them too, considering my ardent atheism. I guess cultural habits can be a bit hard to break. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/38 "2004-06-23T18:42:51Z")
Usually, nothing, and I get kind of rankled when people say “bless you.” If I sense strongly that someone is expecting a response, I’ll say “gesundheit.” And I’ll excuse myself after a particularly disruptive sneeze. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/39 "2004-06-23T18:46:39Z")
1. Gotcha soul ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/40 "2004-06-23T19:05:48Z")
I say “Jesus.” In the Spanish way (hay-soos). I learned this from my college Spanish professor, who was from Madrid. My wife’s college Spanish professor was from Latin America somewhere (not sure where) and my wife follows his example and says “Salud.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786.md?page=3)