THE BORE
General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: recursivelyenumerable on September 06, 2014, 01:35:59 PM
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My understanding is that the implied subject of this and similar expressions is "I" in which case it strikes me as awfully presumptuous. You don't get to just assert that you're being kind. That is for me the thankee to assess.
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You presume the thanks is being offered as a gift you can decline and not, as in reality, a thing that is forced upon you regardless of your will. When "I" thank you kindly it is indeed for "my" benefit not yours.
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It's not presumptuous to say you're cordially thanking someone, which is what you're saying when you thank someone kindly.
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just yesterday I was in line and the checkout lady said have a good afternoon to the person in front of me, but didn't say that to me as I left.
as a result, my afternoon sucked. >:(
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I wouldn't want them to think I was thanking them begrudgingly.
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How about kindest regards or kindest thanks?
Superlatives are (http://i.imgur.com/t7EY1Hl.png) in formal communication (imo). Excluding rare circumstances we cannot know the highest degree of something--even our own feelings.
The "regards" in "kindest regards" already implies fondness for the recipient; the "kindest" is thus redundant. (I feel the same way about "best regards" but virtually no one will raise an eyebrow if you use that phrase. Descriptive grammar, it's so demonic friends.)
I know we can sarcastically or backhandedly thank others, but generally speaking one does not offer thanks in that manner, so describing them as being kind is unnecessary and awkward. Do you thank others in a mean-spirited manner on the reg?
(Thanking someone kindly is redundant too, but the question posed by the OP was whether or not it was presumptuous, not redundant.)
All this nonsense probably occurs because we shortened "Would you be so kind as to [action]?" to "Would you kindly [action]?"
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There's too much ambiguity for me (best what? wishes? regards? Pop-Tarts?) and best is a superlative, but you would be able to use it in formal business communication without an issue.
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I am kind of fond of "best wishes" :-[
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I've ended an email with "may you and your family enjoy the slaughter of a goat this day" once.
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thx, breh!