Search results
Aug 29, 2024 · Why do English speakers say "cheers" as a toast, or to thank someone? Etymologist Susie Dent explains the origin of the word. Originally published on 16 September 2020. 💡 Watch more videos at ...
The Macmillan Dictionary (American edition) says about cheers: cheers, interjection: (British informal) thank you. In the US, thanks is the nearest informal equivalent. If you say "cheers" in the US, people will think you're offering a toast. In countries that use British English, "cheers" is fine in the informal situations that you mention.
- Cheers. First up, we have possibly the most useful word in the English language. ‘ Cheers’ means…well, pretty much everything. From hello, goodbye, to thank you, and no thank you, to formal or informal toasts at the bar.
- Mate. This one is often heard as a quick follow-up to the word ‘Cheers’. Mate is used as a term of endearment, but also frequently used to casually ingratiate oneself with a stranger or new acquaintance.
- Fortnight. Here’s one you’re likely to know already. ‘ Fortnight’ refers to a period of two weeks – as in ‘we’re staying in London for a fortnight’. The two are used completely interchangeably.
- Ace. Put this word together with ‘cheers’ and ‘mate’ and you have perhaps the most useful phrase in all of the English slang. Ace can certainly refer to a number one in a pack of cards, but to us Brits it also means ‘that’s really great’.
Our favourite is that the real reason people clink their glasses together before drinking is to ensure the drink is safe, because the liquid will slosh over the side of the cup, mixing all of the drinks. If someone has chosen to put poison in the glass it will then poison all of the drinks and the treacherous person will have to reveal themselves.
This phenomenon is taken by some continental scholars as strong evidence that all Britons are telepathic.”. In many places, cheers is actually a very informal word, and its meaning even differs country by country. South Africa: goodbye; (traditional meaning) Australia, New Zealand and in the UK: the meaning varies heavily, but usually thank you.
- Cristobal Gomez
Why do English speakers say "cheers" as a toast, or to thank someone? Etymologist and broadcaster Susie Dent explains all.
At the more casual end of the spectrum, for example, you have a word like ‘ta’, originally a childish form of ‘thank you’ (dating from the 18 th century), but now commonly used as a straightforward colloquialism. Or the word ‘cheers’, which developed this sense in the 1970s, leading The Times to comment that ‘By a remarkable ...
