# Thank you is fine. I don't need anything more elaborate than that **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036 "2022-11-16T15:49:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/41 "2022-11-16T21:55:55Z")
Me too. It baffles me people are put off by this. It rings of insecurity to me. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/42 "2022-11-16T22:31:41Z")
Me three - “I appreciate you” is great. Especially how often I feel UNDERappreciated in my job. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/43 "2022-11-16T23:48:46Z")
I mean, I kinda get where the OP is coming from with “I appreciate you.” It really threw me off-guard the first I heard it, but it’s a sweet sentiment. I’m just used to “I appreciate it.” I don’t find the other form particularly intimate — it sounds a little forced, if anything. If my wife said it to me, I’d be wondering what self-help books she’s been reading, as it sounds kind of “therapist-speak” to me. But as I’ve heard it more and more, it’s just turned into a generic phrase of appreciation, one a little sweeter than most. So I’ll keep it, though I can’t quite bring myself to say it because it sounds so fake coming from my mouth. (If I said it, it would be more like “I appreciate you and what you do” to sound like something I would say naturally.) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/44 "2022-11-17T00:20:53Z")
Long ago I switched to saying “Gesundheit” in response to people sneezing. I’ve always thought it just meant “Health”; I didn’t realize there was a religious component to that one too. I’m considering returning unwanted blessings with a sincere-sounding “Bless your heart!” Not everybody will get it, but some will. I’ve taken to saying “Enjoy your next 24 hours!” as a replacement for HAND, but usually only with my nerdy friends. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/45 "2022-11-17T00:36:37Z")
Frankly I don’t see a need to say anything after a sneeze. The whole ritual is based on superstition in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/46 "2022-11-17T00:38:34Z")
It’s all fun and games until somebody loses a soul ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/47 "2022-11-17T00:41:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Frankly I don’t see a need to say anything after a sneeze. The whole ritual is based on superstition in the first place. I know, but I reflexively feel like saying something just because we always did. There is no “need” to do it, of course, but I have to stifle the reflex, still. When someone says after I sneeze “Bless you” or God bless you" I just ignore it now - not offended, but just slightly irritated. When someone else sneezes I usually don’t say anything, or if with a friend I say “nice catch!”. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/48 "2022-11-17T00:42:56Z")
I hate it because when somebody says it, I now feel obligated NOT to sneeze again when I often need too. So awkward. ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/49 "2022-11-17T00:50:25Z")
Or if I’m having a sneezing fit, sometimes four or five, and they bless each one, sometimes increasing the “power” of the blessing as if that’ll help the pollen dislodge. I’ve started responding to “Gesundheit” with “Comes Out Loose” with varying degrees of comprehension 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/50 "2022-11-17T02:38:11Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > It’s all fun and games until somebody loses a soul - Lol!!! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/51 "2022-11-17T02:52:39Z")
Thank goodness no one has ever said “have a blessed day” to me yet. I think I would stare at them in disbelief. Not having a Christian background, I would NOT find it inoffensive or sweet. I agree with > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I don’t think that the random person who says “have a blessed day” to people is assuming that others are Christian (or even theists); my suspicion is that they see it as doing some low-level witnessing for their faith. Some people with Christian backgrounds may not understand the visceral discomfort/queasiness that some of us get when assaulted with “innocuous” platitudes like this. I understand that, because if someone from my original religious background said an analogous religious phrase to me, I’d probably have the same accepting reaction. But someone from my original religious background would probably not assume any random person was of the same background in the first place (except in locations where everyone actually _was_ that religion). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/52 "2022-11-17T03:27:11Z")
> [@superwombat](#): > > Or if I’m having a sneezing fit, sometimes four or five, and they bless each one, sometimes increasing the “power” of the blessing as if that’ll help the pollen dislodge. I knew somebody who answered the first sneeze with “bless you”, the second with “Gesundheit!” and the third with “Oh shut up!” in a smiling tone. It always came off as funny, not offensive. It often stopped the sneezing fit too. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/53 "2022-11-17T04:20:56Z")
In Mexico, the first sneeze gets “salud”, the second gets “dinero” and the third “y un buen compañero”. Health, wealth and a good friend. ---
**Author:** ![McCaff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@McCaff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McCaff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/54 "2022-11-17T05:40:07Z")
You appear to be finding examples of works that contain the words, not the phrases. Looking at the examples of older works, I found one cluster that contained “Nice” rather than “nice.”. You know, the place in France. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/55 "2022-11-17T06:10:57Z")
I read something recently about how god stuff is built into all sorts of stuff we say, like good bye. I think bless you for a sneeze is like that, and is no more religious than yelling God during sex. Have a blessed day, however, is something I don’t hear much in my very secular neck of the woods. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/56 "2022-11-17T12:36:09Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > It bothers me when people, usually bus drivers, say Have a good day. I’d reply, “I’m traveling by bus, how good could it be?” But then I haven’t been on a bus in decades and it brings back negative memories. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/57 "2022-11-17T13:03:11Z")
My brothers new wife started calling me ‘Honey’. Um, no. Just no. Honey is reserved for a very few special people. I told her to please stop. She now thinks I hate her. This woman has the thinnest skin of anyone I have ever met, and I have thin skin. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/58 "2022-11-17T13:12:16Z")
The ngram I’m getting from a search is not the one showing up in the link. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/59 "2022-11-17T14:17:49Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > Seems to me that the statement “Have a blessed day” has at most a 2% chance of meaning “Let me see if I can shove some religion down your throat” and thus a very high probability of being benign. I thus think a mild response that includes no pushback is quite obviously the sensible choice. I guess I don’t feel that way. I remember when (in my area, at least), it was not a thing at all. It was deliberately picked up as an alternative to “have a nice day” during the time when the government was actually trying to enforce separation of church and state and not have teacher-led prayer in schools. It was a specific attempt to insert religion in daily life in way that it wasn’t before and in schools and government facilities in particular. Again, that’s my area in the 1990s - I can’t say it wasn’t widepread elsewhere before that. ---
**Author:** ![TXRebel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@TXRebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXRebel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036/60 "2022-11-17T14:34:23Z")
Eh, I just look at it as they are living their faith. I’m living mine and won’t be saying it back. I can think of hundreds of things that people say that are waaaay more offensive than have a blessed day. I save my energy for those tools. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thank-you-is-fine-i-dont-need-anything-more-elaborate-than-that/975036.md?page=4)