What does “ta” mean? I had assumed it mean good-bye, as in ta-ta for now. However, recent context seems to indicate it means thanks. I found one reference saying it means “Thanks Alot,” and if that’s the case, everyone who uses it should hang his head in shame since “alot” is not a word, and it should be “TAL.” I’ve mainly seen it used by Australians.
Just two letters, but so much confusion. Can anybody help?
Ta means thanks here in the UK, although ta-ta still means goodbye.
Oh gawd, I combed the net and the SDMB, and forgot to check the dictionary. Thanks, mattk . . . or rather, ta.
So it’s not tantalum?
Australians like to shorten any long word, and lengthen any short word. This especially applies to people’s names. So, ‘ta’, which is a word I use often, I would guess originated as an abbreviated “thanks”, rather than an acronym of “Thanks A Lot”.
So an Aussie slang term for an American (a bit dated now) is “Seppo”, with the logic running thus:
American is too long, so we’ll call them yanks.
Yank is too short, so we’ll borrow Cockney rhyming slang, and call them Septic Tanks.
Hmm, that one’s also too long, better shorten it to Seppo.
Better explain that this is not really derogatory. If an Australian adds an “-o” suffix to your name, than he or she likes you.
D’uh, all that hpyothesis, and I didn’t check mattk’s post. The British origin makes sense. :o
A quick note on pronunciation:
“Ta” is taah.
The two syllables in “ta-ta” are different from each other. It’s ta-taah. the first syllable is a short ‘a’, but it is the one which carries the stress.