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The polite way, among many others, of replying to thanks is "You're welcome!" or "Don't mention it." However, among friends, if you specifically wish to indicate that "thanking you" is the very least you can reward my efforts, is there a convenient, ironical and, when needed, even unpolite way of saying "Please do mention me in the despatches! I've just spent three workdays getting you out of trouble, and all I get is 'Ta!'. Of course you can tell people off, but I am looking for a popular phrase, if there is one. -- Pxos ( talk) 12:59, 28 September 2017 (UTC)
My original question is in need of some rewriting. In the Finnish language there is an old proverb that goes roughly as follows: "A cat will survive on a "thank you", a dog on a little stroke upon his head." (The translation is my own and therefore little shaky, but anyway.) The animals in the proverb are not pets but live on a farm "parallel to people" and not dependent on them as such. A cat will catch mice and birds, and he lives happily without interference: all he might want is a "thank you" once a year. A dog will need more, but even he becomes overjoyed at the idea of an occasional bone and a pat on his head. In Finnish, the first part of the saying is sometimes used to tell that mere "thanks" might make the day of a stray cat, but it is not sufficient to the annoyed party. Is there anywhere near a similar proverb in the English language? -- Pxos ( talk) 19:17, 28 September 2017 (UTC)
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In the lede of the Jeffrey Glenn Miller (an article requiring the use of American English according to MOS:STRONGNAT), an American editor has written protesting against. This surprised me, as I had thought Americans preferred simply protesting anything objectionable. Does the addition of against sound strange to American ears? Is the use regional?
Supplementary question: is the phrase protest ones innocence used in the U.S.? It would seem nonsensical if protest is equated with protest against. Thanks -- catslash ( talk) 21:35, 28 September 2017 (UTC)
Language desk | ||
---|---|---|
< September 27 | << Aug | September | Oct >> | September 29 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
The polite way, among many others, of replying to thanks is "You're welcome!" or "Don't mention it." However, among friends, if you specifically wish to indicate that "thanking you" is the very least you can reward my efforts, is there a convenient, ironical and, when needed, even unpolite way of saying "Please do mention me in the despatches! I've just spent three workdays getting you out of trouble, and all I get is 'Ta!'. Of course you can tell people off, but I am looking for a popular phrase, if there is one. -- Pxos ( talk) 12:59, 28 September 2017 (UTC)
My original question is in need of some rewriting. In the Finnish language there is an old proverb that goes roughly as follows: "A cat will survive on a "thank you", a dog on a little stroke upon his head." (The translation is my own and therefore little shaky, but anyway.) The animals in the proverb are not pets but live on a farm "parallel to people" and not dependent on them as such. A cat will catch mice and birds, and he lives happily without interference: all he might want is a "thank you" once a year. A dog will need more, but even he becomes overjoyed at the idea of an occasional bone and a pat on his head. In Finnish, the first part of the saying is sometimes used to tell that mere "thanks" might make the day of a stray cat, but it is not sufficient to the annoyed party. Is there anywhere near a similar proverb in the English language? -- Pxos ( talk) 19:17, 28 September 2017 (UTC)
You found us, share the love! We are free and want to stay that way, so please, help us by sharing.
In the lede of the Jeffrey Glenn Miller (an article requiring the use of American English according to MOS:STRONGNAT), an American editor has written protesting against. This surprised me, as I had thought Americans preferred simply protesting anything objectionable. Does the addition of against sound strange to American ears? Is the use regional?
Supplementary question: is the phrase protest ones innocence used in the U.S.? It would seem nonsensical if protest is equated with protest against. Thanks -- catslash ( talk) 21:35, 28 September 2017 (UTC)