# "No problem", "No Worries", or "No Sweat"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541 "2012-10-03T01:53:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/1 "2012-10-03T01:53:33Z")
Which phrase do you usually use instead of “You’re welcome” (especially when responding to a non-literal “Thank you”)? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/2 "2012-10-03T02:03:12Z")
I rarely use anything other than “you’re welcome” but probably choose “sure” or “happy to” when I do. “No problem” sounds like a bizarre non sequitur in situations where we were not just saying that it was a problem. When waiters say it I can’t help but think “we’ll I should hope not!” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/3 "2012-10-03T02:16:02Z")
I say “No problem!” and hate myself for it. I have several habits which annoy the everliving crap out of me, and this is one of them. As \*\*Napier \*\*says, it’s a really weird thing to say, suggesting that something could be problematic by denying its problematicness. Strangely, it’s doesn’t bother me even a little bit when other people say it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/4 "2012-10-03T02:19:46Z")
I ticked “No problem” but what I usually say is “Not a problem.” ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/5 "2012-10-03T02:21:06Z")
Another “other”…I usually say “sure” or “sure thing”. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/6 "2012-10-03T02:22:11Z")
No worries, but then being an Australian it’s kind of compulsory. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/7 "2012-10-03T02:25:34Z")
That’s what I’m here for. I work retail–if someone asks me where something is located, it is sometimes appropriate to say “far corner of the store, bottom shelf”. But sometimes it’s more appropriate to say “come with me, let me show you”. And sometimes, I’m more willing to give in gracefully on the subject than others–meaning, sometimes I want you to at least stand still and listen while I give you a hard-earned clue about where the item is rather than rush off immediately. So I often say “No problem” “that’s what I’m here for” or “I get asked that all the time” or even “in a store this size, there’s really no such thing as a stupid question, but no, we don’t carry that” sometimes in response to “you don’t have to walk me there” or other “sorry to bother you” type comments rather than explicitly grateful ones. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/8 "2012-10-03T02:29:26Z")
Coin toss between “No problem/Not a problem” and “No worries.” I will also sometimes say “Yup,” which now makes me laugh because I was not too long ago listening to a CBC show where people were airing their pet peeves, and one of them was when you say “Thank you,” and the person responds with nothing other than “Yup.” ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/9 "2012-10-03T02:35:55Z")
“No Bother at all at all” or “No bodger”. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/10 "2012-10-03T02:44:22Z")
Oddly, I almost always say “no problem” but I typically type “no worries.” I know it is an Aussie-ism, but I have no idea why I use it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/11 "2012-10-03T02:53:29Z")
I’m surprised to find that I’m the first to prefer “no biggie/no big deal”. I use all the others quite a bit, too, though. (“No worries” a bit less than the others…it hasn’t quite lost that faux-Aussiness yet.) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/12 "2012-10-03T03:10:57Z")
It’s an Aussie-ism? Shows what I know. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/13 "2012-10-03T03:11:06Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I say “No problem!” and hate myself for it. I have several habits which annoy the everliving crap out of me, and this is one of them. As \*\*Napier \*\*says, it’s a really weird thing to say, suggesting that something could be problematic by denying its problematicness. > > Strangely, it’s doesn’t bother me even a little bit when other people say it, though. _Exactly._ When I worked in offices I’d find myself saying this to people who thanked me for something and it made me want to bitch-slap myself. I could never train myself to say “You’re welcome” instead. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/14 "2012-10-03T04:04:10Z")
OK. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/15 "2012-10-03T04:06:13Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > “No problem” sounds like a bizarre non sequitur in situations where we were not just saying that it was a problem. Why are you saying it before they get a chance to thank you, then? Because ‘thank you’ means ‘hey, I know I’ve asked you to go out of your way for me, and I appreciate you doing so’, ie ‘I hope I haven’t caused you a problem’. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/16 "2012-10-03T04:17:22Z")
I’m really terrible about never saying “you’re welcome” and saying “thank _you_” instead. There’s nothing wrong with saying thank you, but some form of “you’re welcome” should be included. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/17 "2012-10-03T04:22:00Z")
I say “No problem!” or sometimes “Sure!” but I know that drives my dad up an old-man wall. I don’t mean to, it just sort of happens. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/18 "2012-10-03T04:29:59Z")
I never say any of those things. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/19 "2012-10-03T05:26:07Z")
Other: I generally say, “You’re welcome” but sometimes say, “My pleasure” I hate “no problem” in instances where the person IS NOT being asked to go out of their way. The other day I was at Target, the woman who rang me up handed me my bag, I said “thank you” and she said, “no problem”. I’m thinking, " Damn well better not be a problem, it’s your job!" I also don’t think waiters should say “No problem” when you are giving them your order. If you ask for something special or whatever, “that’s not a problem” is a fine response, but if you’re just ordering off the menu, it’s weird for them to be assuring you it’s no problem for them to take your order to the kitchen or whatever they do with it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541/20 "2012-10-03T05:35:42Z")
I go in phases. I have been saying “no worries” a lot lately, possibly too much. Though I also say “Okey Dokey” and “Sure Thang Brah\*.” \*Not really [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-problem-no-worries-or-no-sweat/636541.md?page=2)