Is it rude to say "Thanks for asking"? - English Stack Exchange

3. Spoken sincerely, there's nothing rude about “thanks for asking.” However, do note that some people use it sarcastically! · 2. Perhaps the full form, "Thank ... EnglishLanguage&UsageStackExchangeisaquestionandanswersiteforlinguists,etymologists,andseriousEnglishlanguageenthusiasts.Itonlytakesaminutetosignup. Signuptojointhiscommunity Anybodycanaskaquestion Anybodycananswer Thebestanswersarevotedupandrisetothetop Home Public Questions Tags Users Unanswered Teams StackOverflowforTeams –Collaborateandshareknowledgewithaprivategroup. CreateafreeTeam WhatisTeams? Teams CreatefreeTeam Teams Q&Aforwork Connectandshareknowledgewithinasinglelocationthatisstructuredandeasytosearch. Learnmore Isitrudetosay"Thanksforasking"? AskQuestion Asked 8years,4monthsago Active 5years,5monthsago Viewed 326ktimes 5 1 Mymanagerrecentlyaskedme"Howareyoudoing?EverythingOK?".Ifelthappythatheaskedmethatquestion,andfeltthathewasreallyconcernedaboutme.Iwasdoingwell.SoItoldhimthatandfolloweditupwith"Thanksforasking."Doesthestatement"Thanksforasking"soundrude(kindoflikeIdon'tneedtotellyou)?Isthereabetterwaytoexpresstheexpressionorcanyouuseyourfeelingstoprovehowyoufeel? meaninggrammaticalitysyntactic-analysispoliteness Share Improvethisquestion Follow editedJul18'16at0:30 HotLicks 26.4k33goldbadges5050silverbadges101101bronzebadges askedAug20'13at4:33 FoxFox 15911goldbadge11silverbadge33bronzebadges 4 3 Spokensincerely,there'snothingrudeabout“thanksforasking.”However,donotethatsomepeopleuseitsarcastically! – BraddSzonye Aug20'13at10:36 2 Perhapsthefullform,"Thankyouforasking"beingslightlymoreformal,islesslikelytosoundsarcastic.It'salsoimportanttonote,thatintonationwillmakeitclearwhethersomeoneisgenuinelypleasedorpissedoff! – Mari-LouA Aug20'13at20:57 1 Outofinterest,isthereareasonyouaskthis?Didyourmanagerseemabitpeevedorquizzical? – DogLover Jul17'16at23:19 It'sonlyrudeonSE. – AlanCarmack Jul18'16at5:58 Addacomment  |  4Answers 4 Active Oldest Votes 4 Ifindthistobeafairlycommonexchangeincustomerservice(CS)situations(cashiers,waiters,telemarketers,andthelike)thesedays: CS:Hello,howareyoudoingtoday? Me:Good,thanks,andyou? CS:I'mdoinggreat,thankyouforasking! Apparently,thephrase"thankyouforasking"isconsideredtheheightofcustomerserviceetiquettenow. Sonotonlyissaying,"thankyouforasking"notrude,it'saformofpolitenessthat'sscriptedoftenintocustomerserviceinteractions. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredAug20'13at5:56 GnawmeGnawme 39.1k33goldbadges6868silverbadges107107bronzebadges 1 AsmuchassubconsciouslyIprobablyknowit'sscripted,Iliketothinktheyaredoingitattheirownwill. – DogLover Jul17'16at23:21 Addacomment  |  2 I'dratherplaceitamongironicalphrases,withrudenessintendedornotintended: —Lendmeagrand,dude? —Nosuchmoneyonme,pal,butthanksforasking.   —Iseemtohavescratchedyourcarabitwhiletryingtopark…Areyouokay? —Well,notexactly,butthanksforasking. Ifthepersonyou'retalkingtodoesn'texpectanyirony,I'dsuggestthatyouchoosesomeothersimilarphrasewithnopotentialnegativeconnotations. Astothebetterwayofexpressingyourgratitude,Ithinksincere'I'mgladthatyou'veaskedme'willservethebest.Notethatthebrevityisyourenemyhere:even'Thankyouforasking'willbeafitterchoicethan'Thanksforasking'. Share Improvethisanswer Follow editedJul17'16at23:20 DogLover 6,23977goldbadges4242silverbadges7777bronzebadges answeredSep19'13at8:34 MykolaMykola 97966silverbadges1818bronzebadges Addacomment  |  0 Ican'timaginearudephrasecontainingthankyoubutthatisnotsoimportant.Inoralconversationsmostofthepolitenesslaysinthecontexts. IfyouwantedtoanswermoreformallyyoushouldhaveusedsomethinglikeThankyouforbeingconcerned,Itisreallyveryniceofyoutoaskme. Ifitwasmoreinformalyoucanusesomeslang-ThanksIammightyfineboss,IamfeelingOKlikefishintheocean,Iampleasedasapunchtoday. ItisOKtouseThankyouforasking,itisinformal.TheexpressionsisnotcarryinganynegativemeaningBUTinmyhumbleopinionitisveryplainboringanswer.Welltryingtobesocialyoucanaskback:Howaboutyouboss?andcarryonafurtherconversation. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredAug20'13at8:19 speedyGonzalesspeedyGonzales 2,61177goldbadges2222silverbadges3838bronzebadges 2 2 Iwouldnotsay"pleasedasapunch",butwouldomitthe"a"inthere. – GEdgar Aug20'13at12:03 3 Icanimaginemanyrudesetenceswiththankyou.Forexample,thankyouforbeingasbigafoolasyoulook.Orasimple,ironic,thanksforyourhelptosomeonewhohasnothelpedetc. – terdon Aug20'13at12:45 Addacomment  |  0 Asothershavesaid,whenspokensincerelyit'saperfectlyfinethingtosay.Butifyou'reworriedthatyouwillbemistakenforinsincere,thenthereareotherphraseslike"thanksforyourinterest"or"thankyoufortakingthetimetoask"thatwouldseemlessflip. Share Improvethisanswer Follow answeredJul17'16at23:35 hobbshobbs 1,7761010silverbadges1212bronzebadges Addacomment  |  Highlyactivequestion.Earn10reputation(notcountingtheassociationbonus)inordertoanswerthisquestion.Thereputationrequirementhelpsprotectthisquestionfromspamandnon-answeractivity. 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