# Is "thanks" a a slangy idiom, not considered standard English **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948 "2016-07-02T19:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/21 "2016-07-03T14:45:00Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Accuse me of whatever you want, but not derailing. The previous post by Chefguy derailed the thread, by asking me a question concerning the authenticity of the trivia that i had offered, to which I defended myself. You then joined in yourself, to keep it derailed. You raised the topic. Other people responded to that topic. That was not a derailment. > [@jtur88](#): > > Furthermore, the empirical classification of something as “standardized” within an established academic or professional discipline is not subject to an informal internet poll for verification. I just checked my copy of The Internet Rulebook and I couldn’t find this regulation. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/22 "2016-07-03T15:41:39Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Probably that “the word ‘gullible’ isn’t in the dictionary” guy… Right. They never fail. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/23 "2016-07-03T15:47:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Accuse me of whatever you want, but not derailing. The previous post by Chefguy derailed the thread, by asking me a question concerning the authenticity of the trivia that i had offered, to which I defended myself. You then joined in yourself, to keep it derailed. > > Furthermore, the empirical classification of something as “standardized” within an established academic or professional discipline is not subject to an informal internet poll for verification. very little is empirical in grammar. But if you’re seriusly alleging that “thanks” is considered slang, then you should be able to provide a cite for it. Try the OED for starters. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/24 "2016-07-03T16:00:49Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’d just like to say, as a professional translator, that I do in fact use the word “thanks” on occasion, if it fits the register of the original text. Of course. To reject it out of hand like that is almost willfully myopic. It has nothing to do with standard language or idioms. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/25 "2016-07-03T16:08:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Of course. To reject it out of hand like that is almost willfully myopic. It has nothing to do with standard language or idioms. The more I think about it, the wronger jtur’s orgigial statement seems. “Merci” is the informal way to express gratitude in French; it shoud probably be translated as “thanks”. I think the formal way is something like “Je vous remercie” (forgive the misspelling if any); that would be “thank you.” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/26 "2016-07-03T16:10:00Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But if you’re seriusly alleging that “thanks” is considered slang, then you should be able to provide a cite for it. Try the OED for starters. He would be wasting his time, as I already checked the OED (see [post #7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19450559&postcount=7)) and it does not support his position. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/27 "2016-07-03T16:24:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > “Merci” is the informal way to express gratitude in French; it shoud probably be translated as “thanks”. I think the formal way is something like “Je vous remercie” (forgive the misspelling if any); that would be “thank you.” Similarly: I don’t know how informal Russian “спасибо” (_spasibo_) really is, but there is a more formal expression for thanks – Благодарю вас (_blagodaryu vas_, based on _blagod_ “grace”). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/28 "2016-07-03T16:28:32Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > He would be wasting his time, as I already checked the OED (see [post #7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19450559&postcount=7)) and it does not support his position. I don’t read prime-numbered posts. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/29 "2016-07-03T17:38:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You raised the topic. Other people responded to that topic. That was not a derailment. So it is not a derailment to query a post, but it is a derailment to respond the query, and then it is not a derailment for a third party to pile on. OK, got it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/30 "2016-07-03T17:45:04Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > So it is not a derailment to query a post, but it is a derailment to respond the query, and then it is not a derailment for a third party to pile on. OK, got it. So are you going to provide a cite that “thanks” is slang? Or answer the observtion that “je vous remercie” is formal way, in French, to express gratitude (and thus would be translated as “thank you” in English), while “merci” is the informal way, and thus would be translated as “thanks”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/31 "2016-07-03T18:33:45Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > So it is not a derailment to query a post, but it is a derailment to respond the query, and then it is not a derailment for a third party to pile on. OK, got it. I didn’t say any of the posts, including yours, was a derailment. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/32 "2016-07-03T19:02:49Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Accuse me of whatever you want, but not derailing. The previous post by Chefguy derailed the thread, by asking me a question concerning the authenticity of the trivia that i had offered, to which I defended myself. You then joined in yourself, to keep it derailed. > > Furthermore, the empirical classification of something as “standardized” within an established academic or professional discipline is not subject to an informal internet poll for verification. While it’s a game thread, the trivia is supposed to be accurate. Yours was not, in my opinion, so I questioned your post. It’s no different than any other questionable “fact” on this board, and so is absolutely not a derailment on my part. You defended your position, and I defended mine, so subject closed (or so I thought). I have no interest in a continued debate over your pedantry on the subject. ---
**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 3, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/33 "2016-07-03T19:10:52Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Furthermore, the empirical classification of something as “standardized” within an established academic or professional discipline is not subject to an informal internet poll for verification. How about dictionaries: [Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thanks) [Cambridge English Dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/thanks) [The Free Dictionary](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/thanks) [MacMillan Dictionary](http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/thanks_1) [The Oxford Dictionary](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/thanks) Not one of them lists “thanks” as being slang or non-standard. Some indicate it is informal. Thanks = _merci_ [Collins French-English Dictionary](http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french/thanks) [WordReference.com](http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/thanks) [Google Translate](https://translate.google.com/#auto/fr/thanks) You know, when there is clear and overwhelming evidence that you made a mistake, you’re not going enhance your credibility on this board by insisting you didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/34 "2016-07-04T00:56:33Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > How about dictionaries: > > [Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thanks) > > [Cambridge English Dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/thanks) > > [The Free Dictionary](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/thanks) > > [MacMillan Dictionary](http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/thanks_1) > > [The Oxford Dictionary](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/thanks) > > Not one of them lists “thanks” as being slang or non-standard. Some indicate it is informal. > > Thanks = _merci_ > > [Collins French-English Dictionary](http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french/thanks) > > [WordReference.com](http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/thanks) > > [Google Translate](https://translate.google.com/#auto/fr/thanks) > > You know, when there is clear and overwhelming evidence that you made a mistake, you’re not going enhance your credibility on this board by insisting you didn’t. First of all, I never called it “slang” – I characterized it as a “slangy idiom”, a marker that a person in the conversation was willing to use more informal language, which would open the door to more slangy discourse… Second, I made it a point not to enter into this topic, because I has said all I had to say about it when challenged in the Trivia thread. Third, my comments in this thread were not about that at all, but about being accused of derailing the Trivia thread, which I most certainly did not do. . Fourth, I do not owe anybody an explanation nor an apology for the view that I expressed in a different thread and laid to rest there. Fifth, I am not obliged to say I am wrong just because you (or anybody else) say I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/35 "2016-07-04T01:02:47Z")
And sixth, why is this here, instead of in The Pit? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/36 "2016-07-04T01:10:47Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > First of all, I never called it “slang” – I characterized it as a “slangy idiom”, a marker that a person in the conversation was willing to use more informal language, which would open the door to more slangy discourse… > > Second, I made it a point not to enter into this topic, because I has said all I had to say about it when challenged in the Trivia thread. > > Third, my comments in this thread were not about that at all, but about being accused of derailing the Trivia thread, which I most certainly did not do. . > > Fourth, I do not owe anybody an explanation nor an apology for the view that I expressed in a different thread and laid to rest there. > > Fifth, I am not obliged to say I am wrong just because you (or anybody else) say I’m wrong. I am reporting this post as an infringement on my prerogatives. By long-standing tradiation, in any thread in which I participate, the most illogical, intransigent, and ridiculous positions are reserved for me. It’s been that way since 1857; t’s supposed to be that way forever. By making the above assertions you have violated the social compact that holds the board together. ---
**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 4, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/37 "2016-07-04T01:31:02Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > First of all, I never called it “slang” – I characterized it as a “slangy idiom”, a marker that a person in the conversation was willing to use more informal language, which would open the door to more slangy discourse… Exceedingly weak. > [@](#): > > Second, I made it a point not to enter into this topic, because I has said all I had to say about it when challenged in the Trivia thread. Yet you did anyway. And are doubling down on the nonsense. > [@](#): > > Fifth, I am not obliged to say I am wrong just because you (or anybody else) say I’m wrong. We don’t say you are wrong, numerous dictionaries say you are wrong. And when you refuse to acknowledge you are wrong when it’s been clearly demonstrated, you just lose credibility. Suit yourself. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948/38 "2016-07-04T01:51:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Is it true that French has no “you’re welcome” reply? > [@guizot](#): > > Whoever said that? An old French fuck. Bastard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanks-a-a-slangy-idiom-not-considered-standard-english/758948.md?page=1)