thank you

You’re Welcome!

Niall O'Donnell 9 Comments

If you’re a generous person, you may have been saying you’re welcome a lot recently, to all those you’ve given gifts to. What do we mean when we say you’re welcome? It’s almost an afterthought: the most important information being conveyed in this part of the conversation is the thank you. Saying you’re welcome is really just wrapping a bow on the thanks, acknowledging the grateful receipt of it. When you think about the actual meaning of the words, they make the most sense if you consider someone thanking you for giving them something. What you’re saying then is that they’re welcome to whatever it is you gave to them, even if it’s something intangible like help. Even so, it still feels a bit redundant, because surely that could be taken for granted: you wouldn’t have given it to them if they weren’t welcome to it. Continue reading →

100

Niall O'Donnell 6 Comments

First, let me say a big thank you to every one of you reading this. Yesterday I got a lovely notification to tell me I that reached gained 100 followers on WordPress. Which was a lovely surprise. As I’m writing about quite an uncool, niche topic, and just sharing my own thoughts every day, without really planning things, I didn’t expect to attract too many followers. And yesterday was also my first time with over 100 views, which was a nice little instance of serendipity. These numbers may not be so big in the grand scheme of things, but I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read blog, so I’m delighted for every single person who follows me.

So if you’re reading this, and enjoying it, thank you so much, and I hope to keep your mind occupied with mindless trivia about this beautiful language. Continue reading →

Sorry Seems to be the Easiest Word

Niall O'Donnell 1 Comment

Yesterday evening I bought myself some Hammerite Kurust rust converter (we all need a treat on a Friday). When the sales assistant forgot to give me my €1 change I instinctively said Sorry, could I get my change please?

Why did I say sorry? What did I do to him? It took him a few moments to open the till, but apart from that I didn’t inconvenience him that much. English can be quite polite at times, but it does seem a little bizarre that our first instinct is to apologise  in a lot of situations. Continue reading →