This may be viewed as a shortened version of "I hope you stay blessed" (protected from ill will, curses, black magic and the Devil's shenanigans ). Just as "Good Night"/"Good Morning"/"Good Day" really mean "I wish you a good night" or "I hope you have a good night/morning/day". In my experience, it is religious people who most often say "stay blessed" or "Have a blessed day!". The one that really grinds my gears is "Thank you kindly". I’d like to spank Those oafs behindly Who don’t just “thank…” But “thank you kindly.” – A. S. Flaumenhaft, Far Rockaway, New York The English Journal - 1967
On a related note (?), I find "thank you for the kind words" weird. I associate "kind words" with words we use to express kindness, concern or sympathy, not words used to express appreciation, admiration or words used in a compliment. Though, I do get the usual meaning of it; just find it weird.
Rihana, I also don't like 'stay blessed', but it is commonly used mainly in social media.....let us find a substitute....you find out some word..I can give my opinion..
Will think of a substitute. Meanwhile, here's one more usually used phrase (is there a term for them?) that strikes me as odd. This one is "Take care". Long ago, in his TV show, Seinfeld said something like: "Why do people say 'take care'.. what is that supposed to mean.. if they don't say that, will I jump off a cliff?" : )
"Take care" is also in the same category.....my home task to you for finding the substitute..ha ha...of course I can edit also...jointly we can develop...no prize !!
I have found out two substitutes...... " May you succeed always " in place of " Stay blessed " and " Your happiness, my concern " in place of " Take care ".
Ah, not necessarily. Such an ancient word carries many, many shades of meaning. The sense of "kind" here is rather different from "concern" or "sympahty" - here, as an adjective, it implies generosity: "I don't deserve it, but it is very good (kind) of you to say that". OED: Having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature. Cambridge Dictionary: generous, helpful, and thinking about other people's feelings (usage examples below). generous, helpful, and thinking about other people's feelings: She's a very kind and thoughtful person. It's very kind of you to help us. Please be kind to your sister! formal Would you be kind enough to/so kind as to close the door? (= please would you do this) not causing harm or damage: Be kind to the environment. This soap is kinder to the skin. More examples · It's very kind of you to come all the way to meet me. · I gave her some extra money - I know I didn't need to but I thought it would be kind. · "If you like I can do some shopping for you." "That's a very kind offer." · He showed me round the town, which was very kind of him. · You sent her a card? That was a kind thought. PS: I do use "Thank you for the kind words". I have never said "Thank you kindly", "Stay blessed" or "Take care". I would feel embarrassed if I were to catch myself saying any of those!
I think the intended spirit is: "Take care of yourself, wouldn't want anything to happen to you!" I think I'd rather go with Dr. Spock's "Live long and prosper!" - which, if you think about it, is very Indian. This is the blessing we get from our elders when we do our pranaams isn't it?
I was reading an article this morning when I came across the phrase 'shirttail relative'. I had never heard that phrase before reading that article. I assumed that it was a made-up phrase. But hey, OED has an entry here There's 'coattail' and 'riding on coattails', but today I learnt about its sartorial cousin 'shirttail' and 'shirttail relation'. shirttail (n) = The lower, typically curved, part of a shirt which comes below the waist. shirttail (adj) = (of relatives) distantly related. ‘if you checked back far enough, they were shirttail cousins of Curly's parents’
I have never heard of "stay blessed". I think "take care" is a cheerful filler people often use to signify the end of a conversation rather than a brusque stop of the message. It is out of habit and retains only superficial value. Did you notice something .. I am going to the market next week. Take care. I bought a Tesla Model X today. Take care. I watched Ant-man yesterday. Take care. In all the cases, the parting attention is casted on the listener. Though these social niceties like "take care" are devoid of informational hook for interactions to progress, such vocalised token gives an appearance that you acknowledge the presence of the other person in a one-sided update while smoothly ending the conversation. That's my observational theory. You, take care.
