On a message board? Maybe not. And people may read it who don’t know me at all.
But thanks!
OK, I take back my previous statement. “Would you like a piece of pie?” comes across as positive anywhere, and especially in the South. Whatever other criticisms I may have of the region, Southern cuisine is the best on the continent.
I have not experienced that phrase in a negative way.
I have a girlhood memory of a sleepover with some friends in junior high. The hostess, who was a very sweet girl, was presenting us with a range of decorative items for our hair (or something like that) and she said, “Whatever sparks your plug!”
We all laughed so hard at that. I think she made it up.
Also one of my favorite uses of this is, “Okay!” in a slightly dubious but grudgingly respectful tone, I see this as more common among Black women. It clearly conveys that this is not something to be expected, but, you know, you do you.
I was at a hip-let performance, which is hip-hop and ballet fusion, and during the performance a man came out in a tutu. From behind me a woman exclaimed, “Okay!” And it just felt so real and funny and affirming.
A long time ago I (white male) was with my fiancé having lunch along with her co-worker who had her adopted black daughter with her who was about 6. Since I had several nieces and nephews at the time I was trying to entertain/amuse her like I did with them by doing dumb magic tricks with straws and forks at the table. She looked at me like I was from Mars shook her head and said “you go girl”.
That’s adorable.
Whatever rolls your socks up and down!
This comes close to how I interpret the phrase. I think of it as having two parts.
1). What you’re* about to do is stupid and likely to have a bad outcome
2). But I don’t care enough about you to argue with you* or try to get you to not do it, so go right ahead and do it anyway.
- Generic you
I appreciate your unique perspective. Let me know how that works for you going forward.
IOW
That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see how it works out for you.
So a cliché about a cliché.
I think I’ve only seen in books: “How very brave of you.”
I thought the OP was looking for phrases like “whatever floats your boat” or the completely inappropriate “whatever twirls your turban” .
So, maybe something like " whatever scratches your itch" or “whatever oils your chain” ?
There’s always the Midwest “Whatever. . .”, a response that says “I’m too stupid to come up with an argument.”
Of course “Whatever” can also be used to say “Your position is too stupid / irrational for me to argue against.”
Whole lotta stupid on both sides out there.
“No, really, it’s fine. It’s perfectly OK for you to be wrong”