"Have a good day."

Post Reply New Topic

Is that a proper response to say to someone who is closing a conversation?

"Good day" implies anger at the closure of an argument.

But what about "Have a good day" at the end of a perfectly normal conversation?

Is that too abrasive? (Whatever that means)

I think that then you'd say "have a *nice* day" rather than "have a good day".
However, I find that "see you later" works best in such a context.

I don't really think either of them are abrasive. It might depend on the intonation you are using, and any facial expressions you might be showing. But the phrase "good day" itself is not abrasive.

Tim

If the person I'm talking to has to go they usually say "Well, I got to go, cya." I say "Cya" back.

If I had to depart while in conversation, I say "Woop, got to go cya around, nice chatting."

When somebody tells me to have a nice day, I think in my head that my day will turn out the way it turns out. It could turn out to be very nice, or it could turn out to be very crappy. I try to have a nice day, reguardless.

"Have a good day" isn't abrasive. It can be used interchangably with "Have a nice day" but I think "Have a nice day" is used in a more generic sense such as is used routinely by the clerks at checkout counters. "Have a nice day" is so overused in those situations here in the US that I don't think it's a good closer to a personal conversation.

"Have a good day" seems better used in more specific situations, like when you know something about the person and what lies ahead in their day. For instance when my kids are getting out of the van at the beginning of the school day I might call out to them "I love you, see you after school, have a good day!" If I'm talking to one of my girlfriends on the phone in the morning and we've been comparing what we'll be doing that day I might close that conversation with "Have a good day!"