Why do we say "bless you"? - English Language & Usage Stack …
Jul 10, 2014 · The phrase expresses a wish for God to be kind to someone. As such, it is used in its explicitly religious sense (a priest saying "bless you, my child"); to express gratitude, especially for actions that would be considered virtuous in Christian terms; in sympathy for someone's misfortune, particularly when the misfortune is an "act of …
Difference between "God bless" and "God bless you" [closed]
Jan 26, 2016 · Saying bless you when someone sneezes is of much deeper significance than casual sympathy. It dates from at least AD77, and relates to folklore that believed the soul could be separated from the body during a sneeze. If someone intervened with bless you quickly enough it could prevent such a catastrophe. See God bless you –
Is there an equivalent of "bless you" for coughing?
Feb 3, 2016 · In these cases, "God bless you" or "bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil. Apparently coughing opens no such window to the soul - merely to the lower respiratory tract. If my colleague were so seized, I might offer a drink of water, a lozenge, or - in extremis - a call to Emergency Services.
"Bless you" & sneezing - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Saying "bless you" would stop the devil from claiming the person's freed soul. Others believed the opposite: that evil spirits use the sneeze as an opportunity to enter a person's body. There was also the misconception that the heart momentarily stops during a sneeze (it doesn't), and that saying "bless you" was a way of welcoming the person ...
What is an alternative to "Bless you" after sneezing?
Saying "Bless you" (or Gesundheit, or anything else) after someone sneezes does, to some extent, oblige the sneezer to respond with thanks of some kind. This may be inconvenient, especially if the person is about to sneeze again, and such an exchange becomes downright silly in a chain of multiple sneezes — especially if, as often happens, the ...
Secular phrase of "bless you" (after someone sneezes)?
Oct 20, 2014 · Actually "Bless you!" (often uttered as "bleshoo") can be considered as the secular (or neutral) version of "God bless you!". It is just so common that it doesn't necessarily have any religious connotations when said and it used used by many non-religious people as well. Usage notes from Wiktionary:
Why to use "May" before using "May God bless you"?
Aug 1, 2012 · May God bless you. May God be pleased with you. May God accept your prayers. But why do we use "May" at the beginning of the sentence? Apparently, it doesn't make the sentence a question but more polite and respectful towards the God maybe? I cannot tell I heard this structure in any other sentence but religious ones.
"bless you!" alternative - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Apr 2, 2019 · IIRC, people once said “bless you” because they believed that the devil could enter a person’s body at the moment of a sneeze, and that blessing the sneezer would protect them from demonic possession. So in using this expression, you are also mildly mocking the believers. –
Bless your heart - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Dec 10, 2012 · Bless your heart, Cooper hadn't any more invention than a horse; and I don't mean a high-class horse, either; I mean a clothes-horse. It's an older expression, to be sure, and if you hear it today it's probably from a genteel old lady or gentleman — or being used sarcastically by someone else.
Closest equivalent of "bless you" for coughing [closed]
Apr 28, 2022 · "Plague!" "Bring out your dead!" You should think what you want to communicate, whether it's to wish good health, to reference something supernatural (there are various dubious theories that "bless you" could be associated with evil spirits leaving the body or good spirits that needed to be kept in), or something more practical.