No Worries!

 

 

A waiter in a fancy restaurant goes up to a table and greets his customers. After taking the customer's order, the waiter says, "Thank you."

The customer says, "No worries!"

or...

A shopper purchases an item at a department store. The customer hands money to the clerk and the clerk says, "Thank you" and the customer replies, "No worries."

I've been hearing this expression more and more frequently these days, and no offense to my Aussie friends, but I wonder; since when in the U.S. did we decide that the folks "down under" have a better way of acknowledging someones appreciation? Personally, I think the expression should remain in the "land down under" or, at the least, not be bandied about so haphazardly or thrown around so preponderously that it becomes a veritable cliche. Besides, it doesn't even make sense unless someone apologizes. Then, it's okay. For example; "I'm sorry I spilled coffee in your lap!"

Then the individual who is recovering from shock and awe can say, No worries!!! (or sue for damages).

 

And while we're on the subject of words and phrases that get on one's nerves, how about the term "annoying".  A woman whom I used to know would say, "That is SO annoying!" and then all of a sudden everyone in the office was saying, "He is SO annoying!" or "She is SO annoying!" or  "You are SO annoying" Within a matter of weeks, it seemed the whole city was using that word. For some unknown reason, the word "irritating" was no longer used, even though it's  a perfectly useful word to describe the same feeling. In any event, The woman who was always SO annoyed is the same broad with the nasal inflection that used "No worries!" all the damn time. She is an expert at propagating memes, no doubt.

 

Curiously (there's a good adverb for ya),  gay people or should I say "LGBT" folk , to use the current vernacular, evidently prefer to use the word "annoying" (as opposed to the less popular adjective, "irritating"). My guess is that this kind of meme (annoying) is one that replicates more effectively within that sort of demographic. I would venture to bet that if we did a survey with our Twittering friends (or real friends and co-workers) to see which words irritate them the most, we will likely find that someone we thought was straight is actually in the closet.

Lately, I've been saying to people, "Have a nice day!" I know it's overused so that makes me guilty of calling the kettle black but I like saying it! Actually though, I'm doing a test to see if it becomes a meme and spreads to Australia.

When my wife and I went shopping not long ago, store clerks would greet us with, "How are you guys today?" or "What can I help you guys with, today"? And this is the honest to goodness truth; I stared at one dude for a moment and in a cheerful tone and I said, "Do you see more than one guy standing here?" And dude replied, "Sir, it's a universal expression used for greeting anyone, male or female." "Well alrighty then. If you say so."

I'm out of the loop, I suppose. No... In fact, I know I'm out of the loop (how far outside of the loop, I can't say), but the fact that I didn't know what LGBT meant until just recently is a good indication that I'm no longer hip to the jargon of the day. Before I learned the meaning of that acronym, I thought it was some type of sandwich.