# You have just just sneezed. Spock says... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297 "2019-12-23T15:55:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/1 "2019-12-23T15:55:11Z")
What would Mr. Spock say to someone who had just sneezed? “God bless you” seems extremely unlikely. Not logical at all. That point covers any and all translations. Well? (Madalyn Murray O’Hair had an interesting alternative.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/2 "2019-12-23T15:56:08Z")
“Do you require medical treatment, or are you merely reacting to something environmental?” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/3 "2019-12-23T16:00:55Z")
“Live long and prosper” seems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/4 "2019-12-23T16:07:20Z")
I’ve never understood why it’s necessary to say anything. Why not just say nothing? If it’s truly required, why not just say, “hey, that guy sneezed!” ---
**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:** [December 23, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/5 "2019-12-23T16:19:34Z")
‘Take this tissue.’ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/6 "2019-12-23T16:22:41Z")
That’s disgusting. Use a tissue when you do that. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/7 "2019-12-23T16:26:49Z")
Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/8 "2019-12-23T16:27:31Z")
Spock was intelligent enough to know that more emotional races function better with meaningless word-noises called “phatic speech”, so he would learn which noises went with which situations and deploy them as needed. > **[Phatic expression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression)** > > In linguistics, a phatic expression (English: /ˈfætɪk/, FAT-ik) is a communication which primarily serves to establish or maintain social relationships. In other words, phatic expressions have mostly socio-pragmatic rather than denotational functions. They can be observed in everyday conversational exchanges, as in, for instance, exchanges of social pleasantries that do not seek or offer information of intrinsic value but rather signal willingness to observe conventional local expectations for Ot... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/9 "2019-12-23T16:50:20Z")
You are soooo good-looking! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/10 "2019-12-23T16:53:48Z")
“Acknowledged.” ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/11 "2019-12-23T16:55:43Z")
_Absit Omen_ can be translated loosely as “I hope you are not coming down with something” which seems good enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/12 "2019-12-23T17:32:06Z")
“Please do that elsewhere.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/13 "2019-12-23T17:48:39Z")
“This better not be those damn flowers again.” ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/14 "2019-12-23T18:45:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You are soooo good-looking! Haha I was hoping to be the first to suggest this. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/15 "2019-12-23T19:28:39Z")
“I suggest you go to Sickbay and have Dr. McCoy give you a thorough examination to make sure you haven’t caught Rigellian influenza.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/16 "2019-12-23T20:39:03Z")
“I will pass your recommendation that we scuttle the Enterprise along to the captain, but could you please explain why you offered it in an obscure Proto-Romulo-Klingon dialect?” ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/17 "2019-12-23T22:53:18Z")
I said once that Doctor McCoy may yet cure the common cold. He is taking an inordinate amount of time to do so, I see. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/18 "2019-12-23T23:59:57Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > I’ve never understood why it’s necessary to say anything. Why not just say nothing? If it’s truly required, why not just say, “hey, that guy sneezed!” I grew up with nothing. If we were to say “bless you” or “gesundheit” in Norway every time someone sneezed, we’d have no time to do our other winter activities. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/19 "2019-12-24T00:10:30Z")
“Fortunately, I am immune to viruses that affect humans.” ^:dubious:^ ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297/20 "2019-12-24T00:40:47Z")
There’s no logical reason to say anything so I expect he would say nothing [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-just-sneezed-spock-says/845297.md?page=2)