The Dude
Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2011
- Member Type
- Retired English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- England
- Current Location
- England
This thread really follows on from an earlier one entitled 'dumb as a post', which developed into comments about regional use of an idiom. I thought I'd toss this in the air and see how it came down!
When someone uses an idiom in the wrong context, it causes a certain astonishment in the listener and a desire to say "WHAT?" That is how I'd feel if you thanked me for my help by saying "Thanks a bunch".
In my experience, 'thanks a bunch' definitely does not ever mean a sincere thank you. It is a purely sarcastic expression that I would only use if, for example, a friend had let me down in some way.
All the other genuine expressions of thanks can also be used ironically (eg: "Thank you very much" when someone spills his drink over you), but this would be understood from the context or the speaker's tone and face.
I may be alone here, but am confident this is correct, at least in England. Unfortunately you do hear some native English speakers using this expression wrongly, but that doesn't make it 'right'. Is this the same in other regions, I wonder?
When someone uses an idiom in the wrong context, it causes a certain astonishment in the listener and a desire to say "WHAT?" That is how I'd feel if you thanked me for my help by saying "Thanks a bunch".
In my experience, 'thanks a bunch' definitely does not ever mean a sincere thank you. It is a purely sarcastic expression that I would only use if, for example, a friend had let me down in some way.
All the other genuine expressions of thanks can also be used ironically (eg: "Thank you very much" when someone spills his drink over you), but this would be understood from the context or the speaker's tone and face.
I may be alone here, but am confident this is correct, at least in England. Unfortunately you do hear some native English speakers using this expression wrongly, but that doesn't make it 'right'. Is this the same in other regions, I wonder?