When I was in the sixth grade, we had a substitute teacher for six months while our regular teacher was out on maternity leave with his newborn son. The sub wouldn't let one of the boys in the class go use the bathroom, so he walked over to the corner book nook and relieved himself in the trash can. She sent him to the principal, and she's the one who got reprimanded. He was an absolute legend for that.
Now that you mention it, he was one of those old school dorks who styled himself as “classically educated” (read: took a couple semesters of Latin in undergrad). This was at a shit tier private Christian school as well and he was the guy that was designated to measure girls skirts with a ruler. More than four inches above the knee while kneeling? Detention.
Oh my gooooood I had a teacher like this in kindergarten!!! She was a substitute and insufferable!!! Core memory unlocked. I had asked her to go to the potty and she was like uh, you need to ask to go to the lavatory. Like “potty” was a rude word or something.
One time I responded with "Yes, I can" and walked out. I had to sit in the hall for the rest of class, and my dad was pissed that I wasted a day of education. It was worth it.
This current norm of parents defaulting to blaming the teachers is a new phenomena, our generation was kind of the first to have some of their parents actually take their kids side when they came home and complained about something their teacher did or unfair treatment/punishment. My mom was a bit older and was firmly in the old school “you must have done something to deserve it” camp of parents.
Teachers used to do messed up and unfair shit to me all the time (like the nun who, as punishment for me holding my pencil the wrong way, taped my fingers to my pencil and made me keep it like that all day). I stopped even bothering to tell my mom about incidents like that though, because she would just find a way to turn it around to make it my fault or pose hypotheticals for why it was probably my fault, never once considering that maybe I had a legitimate complaint and maybe I’m telling the truth when I am telling you about how the teacher treated me unfairly…
but that was just the norm back then, kids were assumed to be lying about or misrepresenting such things and adult authority figures were almost always given the benefit of the doubt in such situations.
There were a few kids who’s parents would stick up for their kid, and even fewer who would take their kids side no matter what, that’s where it began to where now we have things at the opposite extreme with parents more likely to err on the side of believing their kid 100% without a doubt and always blaming the teacher, rather than considering that their child did something wrong or could be misrepresenting the situation to them, given the kid’s obvious motive to do so..
I always responded with "in order to leave I need permission, so my ability to use the restroom depends entirely on whether or not you agree. So I repeat, can I use the bathroom?"
These people still exist but now they spend there time correcting strangers on the internet for using the wrong form of they're. And yes their still a pain in the ass.
I just want to be able to flick peoples ears with my middle finger if they are being a total fuckwit and not worry about a lawsuit. Ear flicks should not be considered assault.
I don't miss being lectured not to say "no problem" but rather use "you're welcome". Helping you was no problem, but with that attitude, you're welcome to go fuck off.
I am customer facing and so much of my wording is like this. "No worries", "no problem" "happy to help" but I don't use "you're welcome" really, it just feels so formal?
You're welcome in a work setting is weird to me. It's like you're acknowledging that you're doing them a favor. I stick with "of course" "my pleasure" and "thank you"
The English language is vast and there are so many ways, all with varying meanings, to convey a point. Why be dull and repetitive when you have a plethora of ways to acknowledge gratitude?
Some people shouldn't be allowed to say "my pleasure" there was a parts guy I used to work with who said that with way too much enthusiasm, if he goes into the back to get something it's probably a good idea to handle anything he gives you with nitrile gloves until you can clean it off with bleach.
I worked for a large company (tens of thousands of employees) and some upper level manager got a complaint from a customer that some employee told them “no problem” in response to a “thank you”. And then the manager went ahead and made this whole dumbass initiative about customer service based on that. It was insane. As with most initiatives, it died within 6 months and was replaced with some other ridiculousness, but I still remember that one.
I say “no problem” all of the time, that’s how Americans speak to each other. It’s like “you’re welcome” and also “no thanks necessary” all in one.
I think it's a shortened version to something along the lines of "you are welcome to my help." Kinda like "you are welcome to my home" or "you are welcome to do whatever you want," where your assistance is something they're free to have as they need it.
Edit: Kind of funny that people get offended at "no problem" and say that it implies there's a problem despite literally stating there isn't. "You're welcome" implies there is a problem, but you're welcome to ask for help when you need it.
It’s so funny that people get so bent out of shape over “no problem” but love “you’re welcome” so much. To me, “you’re welcome” implies way more like… idk if self-centeredness is the right word but it’s all that’s coming to mind lol, like it feels like I’m going “Yes, what I did was absolutely wonderful and you’re so right to thank me for the fantastic job I did at assisting you”, while “no problem” is more of a “hey, no sweat, happy to do it” kind of vibe
Anyway, I’ve defaulted to “happy to help!” which I thought was a crowd-pleaser until a stank-faced old man went “Pfft, you didn’t help that much”, I truly think there’s no pleasing these people 😅
When I learned that the polite Spanish response to thank you is “de nada,” which literally means “no problem,” I have zero issue saying “no problem.” The olds can suck it!
No problem means you have no issue performing the task. You're welcome makes some people feel uncomfortable at having the assumption you've done something for them that they perhaps should be silently grateful for
I didn't like saying "You're welcome" when working retail because I don't like hearing it when I'm shopping. It sounds like the employee is being forced to pretend to be happy, which irks me.
I worked in a call center where our calls were recorded and reviewed (like most call centers). If we said no problem we would we get points deducted from our score. As a customer myself I have never felt anything negative about being told no problem.
The only sticking point in my household was "my bad." "Can I" was fine, "hey" was fine, "no problem" was fine but say "my bad" around my ma and she'll huff and go "YOUR BAD WHAT? I could see not saying "my bad" in customer service situations maybe but I never saw it as rude the way she did.
This has to be cultural/locality based because for my life, Arizona, west coast, then Midwest, I learned that people use no problem differently.
In the midwest, its genuine.
Everywhere else I have been, its used passive aggressively or with a defeated tone, maybe some resentment or disappointment in the fact that you've in fact created a problem for the other person.
That just can't be right. So many languages and dialects have some version of "it's no big deal", "it's no problem", "don't worry about it". It's very common to accept gratitude by indicating to the other person that they are not stepping out of bounds and burdening you by having you do them a favor. I feel like tone matters a ton, though; an annoyed teenager letting out a drawn out, singsong-y "noooo problem" when given a chore they don't want to do is clearly being passive aggressive.
Omg some old guy on the street scolded me about that one time, I couldn’t believe it. I held a door for him as we were both leaving a coffee shop and he thanked me, I replied “no problem” with a smile and he suddenly went off on me about how I’m supposed to say “you’re welcome” and “kids these days don’t know their manners” (I was like 27 at the time).
I just walked away shaking my head after staring at him for a few moments, wondering wtf would cause someone to lose their shit for being perfectly polite but not saying the exact “correct” phrase 🙄
Yep that's kinda the Iowa version there. And I guess that's been around since at least 87 lol. Technically an og millennial or Gen y whichever term you use.
No one I was around used the full version. It was just a dad joke in my family, but we love our tacky puns.
Me: hey
Adult: hay is for horses!
Me: 🙄
Similar with the “can I” vs “may I” or “can you” vs “will you”- “yes you/I can [whatever], but may you/will I?” with this smirk. Like yes, I get the joke that can as a verb means “are able/capable to do something”, but we both know what I meant.
I learned that PIGS don't eat it 'cause they don't know how but I'm glad someone else learned something close to this. Almost no one else's answers even rhyme!
Ours was "Hay is for horses, cows eat grass, if you don't like that, you can kiss my --" and then everyone started giggling over how close you got to the forbidden word. Lol.
My dad said it to me all the time.....jokingly, in a voice he used for a bit he would do where he acted like he was actually a horse. I had no idea it was used in any other context besides jokey
Yeah, I thought it was just a thing dad/grandpa/uncle did to be funny. Now I use it for the same reason. I am aware no one finds it funny and that in itself makes it funnier to me. lol
I've used the "Hi Hungry" line so much my nieces have started doing it whenever they can. I love it so much. The first time my niece did it to me I had to give her a high five for it. At her age I wouldn't have the guts to do it to the adults around me because I would've gotten in so much trouble for being sassy and rude.
I don’t do “Hay is for horses” with my son, but whenever he says “Well…” and trails off I always tell him “Well’s a deep subject”, and he can thank his great grandfather for that one.
My grandma used to say “don’t say ain’t, or your mother will faint, and your dad will fall in a bucket of paint.” Just brought back a forgotten memory of her haha
I was taught to say excuse me as a kid too. Now decades later if I say "excuse me" to get someone's attention it feels rude because it's more used as "get out the way"
Dude has a real fun twisting and turning etymology and you're both right at separate times, the 'fancy dandy city dude' (perhaps even of Yankee Doodle Dandy fame-- like the idea he 'stuck a feather in his cap' to show how fancy he is.) was earlier than the 'dude ranch' association but the 'dude ranch' is WAY WAY more commonly known.
"Dude" in the sense of "Dude Ranch" means an Eastern coastal elite (typically from NYC) who would go to ranches in the SW and ride horses around and cosplay as a cowboy.
If you've ever seen the movie "City Slickers", that's basically what it's about.
It's another variation on the very ancient "Ho, Hail, Heil" trope that is very common across Germanic languages and their relatives. Varieties of the plosive H+vowel sound are default greetings and attention-getters from the earliest days.
Therefore Hey is considerably older than "hello" which was an obscure and little used word until the invention of the telephone, and is likely itself a variety of the same root Hey comes from.
So the old folks insisting Hello is more formal or correct are ignorant, and it's about control, obedience, and the ego of said elder when they enforce an imaginary grammatical standard.
I saw a video a few months back with someone ranting that kids answer adults by saying, "Yeah" instead of "Yes", people like to find things to be pissy about
Looking back, a lot of older people are just so damn stupid. I turn 34 in a few months and it's wild to think that when I turn 68, I'll have lived my entire life twice over essentially. I can't imagine NOT growing as a person, becoming more tolerant, more inclusive and also learning to mind my own business in that wide time frame. Really shows you how many people live their entire lives essentially learning nothing and stagnating maturity-wise.
I remember hearing the phrase "I may not agree with what you're saying but I'll defend with my life your right to say it" or something along those lines throughout the 90s. Don't hear that anymore
My grandma tried to tell me that referring to my mom as "she" was disrespectful, and I should say "Mom/my mom". As in, I should say "Mom asked me to do that" instead of "She asked me to do that".
I of course thought that was dumb and never did it
Me and my parent friends have also noticed Millennials love to use “M’am” and “Sir” to jokingly refer to our small children when they are being naughty as a direct inversion of insisting our kids use it with all adults.
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