How did gesundheit work its way into common American usage? From Wikipedia: In German, Gesundheit ( [to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze This is sometimes used in the United States The expression arrived in America with early German immigrants, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and doubtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantial German-speaking populations 1 The expression is first widely attested in American English as of
What are alternative responses for when someone sneezes? Both the German gesundheit and the Yiddish zay gezunt (phonetical English transliteration; in Yiddish it would be rendered "זײַ געזונט") have made significant inroads into English You are more likely to hear the Yiddish in places that had a significant Ashkenazi immigrant population (particularly certain areas of New York City), but both are more-or-less English now (or at least
Secular phrase of bless you (after someone sneezes)? English speakers not comfortable saying bless you might instead use the German loanword gesundheit Related question: What are alternative responses for when someone sneezes?
Looking for the God Bless You of Hiccups FWIW :-) Saint Walburga, a Benedictine nun and healer in the 8th century, is the patron saint of coughing, and a hiccup is (at least etymologically) a kind of cough So perhaps you could invoke her name? Walburga! Sort of like Gesundheit!
Where did the phrase scat old cat come from? [duplicate] I found this googling: And what about scat!? Although this word is facing fierce competition from the German Gesundheit, DARE reports from its many interviews that scat's meaning of "begone" is frequently used in the South from Florida to Texas (heaviest in Kentucky) as "reference to the belief that the devil enters the body when a person sneezes "
politeness - God bless you equivalent for fart? - English Language . . . "God bless you" "Gesundheit" And others But with a fart you laugh, deride or come up with something clever to say on the spot Is there a commonly known polite word or phrase that says "I acknowledge your flatulence" similar to things said after sneezing?
Does a phrase exist that one uses to another person who is about to . . . Gesundheit! Sneezing Gets A Big Reaction As a child with various minor allergies, I used to sneeze quite often Each time she heard me sneeze, my grandmother would quickly bless me with ''zum leben un gesund'' (to life and health) and pull up on my right ear Upon the inevitable second sneeze, my left ear would be pulled, accompanied by another blessing, ''zum wachsen un kwelln'' (to grow and
What is the origin of the term blue ruin for low-end gin? According to Green's Dictionary of Slang, "blue ribbon," at one point meant "the very best gin," and later came to mean gin in general a blue ribbon worn as a badge of honour; thus referring to the quality of the best gin [early 19C] gin Green's Dictionary of Slang Green attributes this as a precursor to blue ruin, for the ruinous effect of particularly bad gin on a person's health The