"You're welcome" turns 100?

[Michael H Covarrubias]

In a note to Safire I included the following with a single example as a challenge.

"I do understand that you then intend to identify the phrase as a salient (if
waning) response to that most common expression of gratitude: "thank you." In
that case a quick look at only the OED supports your claim. But you should not
be so hasty to trust even such a lofty tome to be your only source. It is not a
regularly updated work. You need not lower your sights to find an example that
predates the OED's 1907 citation. Look to the Bard good sir. In Othello you will
find the following exchange between Lodovico and Desdemona:

Lod. Madam, good night; I humbly thank your ladyship.
Des. Your honour is most welcome.

Use this information as you wish."

Perhaps he wishes to keep the blinders on. He might argue that his definition of
"is" is not the same as "are". He might look up my name and see that I have not
the credentials to merit attention. That's my bet.

michael

Quoting bapopik at AOL.COM:

> This Sunday's NY Times "On Language" column by William Safire has this:
> ...
> "The warm old phrase you=E2=80=99re welcome is rapidly disappearing from
> the=
>  language of civility. Though the word welcome first appeared in
> =E2=80=9CBe=
> owulf,=E2=80=9D the O.E.D. notes that the whole phrase surfaced in print
> in=20=
> 1907. We have now come to the 100th anniversary of the birth of our
> acknowle=
> dgment of someone=E2=80=99s expression of gratitude."
> ...
> Uh, no.
> ...
> The guy writes one column a week, and he allegedly has an assistant to
> help=20=
> him with this. Some trusted member of this group should write to Safire,
> may=
> be not to tell him straight up that this is embarrassing every week to our
> p=
> rofession, but maybe ask Safire if he'd like to spend more time on his
> golf=20=
> game.
> ...
> As everyone here knows, the OED hasn't updated "welcome" in quite some
> time.=
>  So "you're welcome" is likely to be way, way off. Any computer database
> sho=
> uld be able to easily beat this 1907 date. A quick check of Wright
> American=20=
> Fiction (1850-1875) shows about 125 hits for "you're welcome," starting in
> t=
> he 1850s. I could probably find earlier citations without a problem.
> ...
> So what Safire is really saying here is that this is not the "100th
> annivers=
> ary of 'you're welcome,'" but that this is a poor researcher relaying
> obviou=
> sly outdated information to an uninformed general public. This is a joke.
> ...
> Doesn't The New York Times have any journalistic standards?


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   English Language & Linguistics
   Purdue University
   mcovarru at purdue.edu

   web.ics.purdue.edu/~mcovarru
  <http://wishydig.blogspot.com>

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