# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![carimwc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac8455/32.png) [@carimwc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carimwc)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/41 "2004-06-23T19:14:30Z")
I usually say Bless you, but sometimes when I’m in a silly mood I’ll expand it and say, (in a rather serious voice) “Bless you my child, for you have sneezed”, and make the sign of the cross. Just because. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/42 "2004-06-23T19:20:20Z")
I say “Bless you” and occasionally “you are SOOOOOOOOOOOO good looking.” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/43 "2004-06-23T20:05:25Z")
> [@WinstonSmith](#): > > 1. Gesundheit But I don’t say the “Guh.” It comes out “zoon-hite.” Based on **Pyrrhonist** ’s post, I think I’m going to start saying “zut alors” instead, just to see if anybody notices. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/44 "2004-06-23T20:06:11Z")
> [@](#): > > You are sooo good looking ?? I’ve never heard of that. What does it mean? We say: First sneeze: Proost! Second sneeze: Proost! Third sneeze: Morgen mooi weer = Weather will be nice tomorrow. I have no idea why. 🆒 What say you, **Winston Smith**? ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/45 "2004-06-23T20:07:29Z")
“Take that someplace else.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/46 "2004-06-23T20:12:31Z")
I don’t say nuthin’. I also don’t say nuthin’ when someone tells me “Bless you” after I’ve sneezed (or is it snozen?). ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/47 "2004-06-23T20:17:13Z")
> [@gum](#): > > ?? I’ve never heard of that. What does it mean? > > We say: > > First sneeze: Proost! > Second sneeze: Proost! > Third sneeze: Morgen mooi weer = Weather will be nice tomorrow. > > I have no idea why. 🆒 > > What say you, **Winston Smith**? Family: Bless you (pronounced _blesshoo_) Friends/Acquaintences: Salut, Gersundheit, or I’ll just give them the ol’ :dubious: And if _anyone_ sneezes three times in succession, I say: “That’s enough of that, now.” I like ‘Morgen mooi weer’, though. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/48 "2004-06-23T22:08:37Z")
atheist of German background: I say Gesundheit. I know it sounds funny, but I just cannot say the “bless you” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/49 "2004-06-23T22:19:23Z")
I always said “bless you” out of ingrained habit, till I worked with a bunch of Jehova’s Witnesses. I broke the habit, but if I feel like someone “expects” me to say something, I’ll say “bless you”. And I alwayas say “excuse me” after I sneeze, out of habit. Even if I’m alone! ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/50 "2004-06-23T23:08:40Z")
Bless you… and wipe off the snot dripping from your nose please. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/51 "2004-06-23T23:18:25Z")
“Want a tissue?” I have said “Bless You” on occasion when some acknowledgement seems required. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/52 "2004-06-23T23:43:22Z")
I say nothing. Unless it’s a really good one, and then suitable comentary is made on volume, moisture content, distance, et al. If someone says “bless you” to me, about half the time I’ll say “Burn in Hell.” ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/53 "2004-06-24T01:15:52Z")
> [@Rasa](#): > > I always said “bless you” out of ingrained habit, till I worked with a bunch of Jehova’s Witnesses. I broke the habit, but if I feel like someone “expects” me to say something, I’ll say “bless you”. > > And I alwayas say “excuse me” after I sneeze, out of habit. Even if I’m alone! Do Jehovah’s Witnesses object to saying “bless you”? As a person with allergies, I hate the saying…I don’t know how many times I interrupted classes with non-stop sneezing. Then, to add to my embarrassment everyone turns around in an even bigger disruption of the class, and looks at me to say one of those stupid trite blessings, as I try to cover my leaking nose and avoid further disruption. Although, by the fourth sneeze, most people realize that their blessings aren’t working and the torture stops. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/54 "2004-06-24T13:19:13Z")
> [@dwc1970](#): > > I don’t say anything. Really, what’s the point in acknowledging that the other person is sneezing? I hate it when people say “bless you” when I sneeze. I hate sneezing enough as it is, so I don’t need someone to recognize my doing it. The only time I do say something is if the person has a sneezing fit and has sneezed three or more times. At that point I ask them if they are okay. If I sneeze like this I start to get dizzy and light-headed, so I am thinking the other person may feel the same way. Otherwise, saying “bless you” or “Gesundheit” or some other cutesy foreign way of saying it seems so outmoded in this day and age. I’m with you **dwc1970**. I absolutely hate it when people acknowledge sneezes–no one blesses someone when they pass gas or blech, why should another bodily expulsion be any different? This past weekend, I was in public and was engaged in a sneezing fit. Once, I sneezed and the person about \*5 feet away \* said “Bless you”. I thanked her (as I was madly attempting to find a tissue in my purse), then promptly sneezed again. Once again, she blessed me, to which before I could even respond, sneezed again, to which she _again_ said “Bless you”. At this point, I realize I have absolutely nothing in my purse, and short of bottom of my shirt, or my shoulder, I’m going to have to deal with it otherwise. Another sneeze, another bless, at which point not only being humiliated for the sneezing fit, but not having a tissue, not to mention her repeated blessings (especially considering the distance she was), I skulked away. When a person sneezes, please just shut up and don’t bring attention to the fact the person may not have been in a position to react fast enough to produce a tissue and may have snot clinging to his/her nose or other areas. You wouldn’t bless a person who has passed gas, urinated down his leg or bleched, would you? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/55 "2004-06-24T13:53:17Z")
\*“Ewwwwww! Clean that up!” \*I detest people, especially strangers, making polite comments about my bodily functions. If you’re one of the people who do this: **PLEASE STOP!** ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/56 "2004-06-24T14:22:14Z")
I say bless you. It’s a lifelong ingrained thing. I also say excuse me when I sneeze even when I’m alone. Again, a lifelong ingrained thing. Among friends I’ll say things like, ewwwwwwww, get a tissue, hope that didn’t get all over my floor, I think that’s part of your brain there and such. ---
**Author:** ![Low\_Key\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Low\_Key\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Low_Key_1)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/57 "2004-06-24T14:59:09Z")
I don’t say anything when someone sneezes. I dislike (wouldn’t go so far as to say hate) it when someone says bless you or even worse gesundheit (unless the person in question is German). I’m really glad that no one in Sweden says bless you (or prosit, the Swedish equivalent). It only seems to be when I’m around Americans that someone (or several people) will acknowledge my sneeze. I don’t say thank you if someone says bless you (I don’t think at least… but, I suppose, it is possible that I have said thank you if it seemed necessary at some point). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/58 "2004-06-24T22:09:23Z")
Bless you. I wouldn’t add the God unless the sneezer was a member of the clergy…gotta figure _they_ wouldn’t be offended by a mention of God. Anyone else, who knows? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/59 "2004-06-24T22:10:42Z")
Get any on **on** you? Otherwise, bless you ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-sneezed-what-do-you-say/251786/60 "2004-06-25T02:24:21Z")
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