cheers in the UK

[Dale Coye]

On a recent trip to England the main thing that struck me linguistically was
the ubiquity of "cheers" meaning "thanks".  For some reason I hadn't picked up
on this from the movies or TV (though I recently found it in "The Office").
A generation ago when I lived in England for a while I don't remember it at
all (except in the pub and as "good bye") and I see from the OED that its first
appearance was 1976.  I wouldn't be surprised that cheers is in fact used
more often than thanks by the Brits.

Dale Coye
Wilton NH