do you say "bless you" when someone sneezes?

[wildhorses]

Poll question: do you say "bless you" when someone sneezes?

[SPKrazy]

1. Out Of Habit

and I wonder why sometimes

what if i said "curse you"

:rofl:

[wildhorses]

9. shhh---just between me and you

if you say curse you softly enough ...

it sounds like bless you...


so that is what i say to


my boss and other various jerks



i am SOo0o0o passive/aggressive:P

[SPKrazy]

10. That's Funny!

curse you!


:rofl: :pals:


passive agressive R us!

[cwydro]

32. I like that

and my boss sneezes a lot. May have to try that out...:evilgrin:

[wildhorses]

35. --the things we learn on du

:hi:

[cwydro]

36. You are so right!!

:toast: :rofl:

[SPKrazy]

69. Your boss

sounds like a good candidate for this one too!

:rofl: :rofl: :yoiks:

[yewberry]

2. I say "gesundheit."

I always think that I should say something and that does the job. The kids I work with always look at me like I'm nuts, though.

[BarenakedLady]

6. My kids

grew up thinking it was "kissing height". lol.

[wildhorses]

27. thats funny--

gotta love kids--they have a slant on life that is warped:hi:

[SPKrazy]

11. I say that a lot too

just because I don't want to say "bless you"

but wild horses has given me another idea....

[wildhorses]

37. that would be german, right?

what is the literal translation:shrug:

[BarenakedLady]

39. Uhm

I'm not sure. I think it's extending a wish of "good health". I think you'd have to ask MissH though. lol.

[bleedingheart]

65. I say that as well...

gesundheit.

Good health in German...

[BarenakedLady]

3. I say gesundheit always. (n/t)

[bigwillq]

4. I say 'Salud' (nt)

[wildhorses]

30. you salute to the sneeze?

:patriot::P:hi:

[graywarrior]

5. I say, "ewwwww, get away from me!"

[wildhorses]

25. no germs, please--

unless of course they are lukegerms:P:hi:

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

7. My brother had an interesting one

well he'd only do it to me. When I'd sneeze he'd hit me and say "STOP DOING THAT GOD DAMNIT!" ... eh I had an interesting childhood.

[wildhorses]

33. brothers can be so0oo0o00oo aggravating--

i feel your pain:P --have two of them myself:hi:

[trof]

8. I say 'scat!'.

I think it's a family saying.

[hijinx87]

15. very southern

my mother says the same thing. :)

[wildhorses]

24. i did not realize that it is a southern thing--

of course, having been here on du for awhile now-- i am realizing how southern i truly am.:shrug:

i hope with all the positive attributes, though;)

[wildhorses]

41. oh wait a minute --i am confused

scat is very southern...

come to think of it...i remember my granma saying "scat"


very deep south...


thanks for the memory:hug:

[wildhorses]

38. it is funny the "inside" jargon that families come up with--

what did you think of little miss sunshine?

[Maddy McCall]

68. My grandmother said "scat!"

:D

[ashling]

12. I do. Its kind of like

a sports metaphor. I use those too, but it doesn't mean I believe in football.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. I prefer gesundheidt...

And I use it for belches, too.

[wildhorses]

40. for belches?

now see--i rate those on a scale of 1-10:P:rofl:

[ForrestGump]

14. I say "salud" (Spanish),

no matter the ethnicity of the sneezer. I've just never been able to bring myself to say "bless you" or "Gesundheit" -- just doesn't come out of my mouth, for whatever unconscious reason.

[bigwillq]

16. HA! LOL!

I thought it was Salute. :rofl:

I had to edit my response above.

I never use to say bless you but since I've been going out with my boyfriend, who is Puerto Rican, I've been saying Salud because that's what he says.

[wildhorses]

46. did you see my response to your comment?

:crazy:

[wildhorses]

43. oh...that is spanish?

cool...of course it is not the literal interpretation...

do the spanish do this?

:hi:

[OffWithTheirHeads]

17. I say Godzilla

really.

[wildhorses]

49. how odd--

:P are you calling upon the wrath of godzilla to ward off the evil? :hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

18. I tell them to go to hell.

:P

[SPKrazy]

20. Eh, Piss Up a Rope!

not a bodily functions thread,just a southern colloquialism

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. Breastfeed a pitbull!

:P

[SPKrazy]

22. Nooo thanks!

you got me there bud

I ain't givin' no pitbull my boobies

[hopein08]

19. A vos souhaite (French) or, if it's a sneezing fit "Bless you for the rest of the day"

so I don't have to say it after every sneeze, though I always do.:shrug:

[wildhorses]

58. it just sounds so much more sophisticated in french

so elegant--trust the french to make even a sneeze to be elegant:hi:

[Redstone]

23. Never. I've always thought that was a ridiculous habit.

Redstone

[wildhorses]

48. but, of course--

why is it that we find comfort in it?:shrug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. no. i am unaccustomed to it. sometimes i remember, mostly i dont.

[KitchenWitch]

28. My 5 year old daughter, one day, sneezed in the other room

and came into the room I was in and said, "Mama, I had a 'bless you'!"

Cute overload!

[wildhorses]

51. remember art linkletter's: kids say the darndest things?

makes me just want to hug them :hi:

[KitchenWitch]

54. That was a GREAT show!

:hi:

[Shell Beau]

29. Yep!

[wildhorses]

57. what about the "scat" from upthread--

have you heard that where you are? :hi:

[The2ndWheel]

31. Only when they cough

[YankeyMCC]

34. I've been using Sneeze Acknowledged

when I say anything.

People usually get a kick out of it. :)

[Quixote1818]

42. I say "You are SO good looking!"

:D

[wildhorses]

52. now, that is very suave---

to turn a sneeze into a flirting manuevuer...you are very good;)

[montanto]

44. gezundheit!

[Quixote1818]

45. My dad use to say "Whiskey"

Not sure why but it was funny!

[wildhorses]

60. isn't that the solution to everything?

:rofl::hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

47. I don't use it, and I hate it when others use it on me

I suffer from nasal allergies, and sometimes if I go out before my meds have kicked in, I'll sneeze several times in a row. That's when some perfect stranger says "bless you" EACH DAMN TIME I sneeze.

I feel like yelling, "Thank you for calling attention to my sneezing fit, Idiot!"

It's a stupid custom, one that originated in an era when people believed that sneezes were opportunities for the devil to enter one's body. The "bless you" was supposed to prevent that.

There's no reason for it now.

If you do it, WHY do you do it? Do you really believe it's going to help the person?

[Quixote1818]

50. I don't like it when people do it to me either

Like you said, it calls attention to your sneezing when you already don't feel well. When you are sick and sneezing you tend to not want to be noticed. I must admit that it gets under my skin as well.

[Gormy Cuss]

53. Gesundheit!

I said "God bless you" when I was a kid, but never just "Bless you." After I learned "gesundheit" I started saying that instead because I like the way it sounds, sort of like a sneeze.:D

[Arugula Latte]

55. Me too.

I think it means "good health." Makes more sense for me to say that than God Bless You (I'm not a believer in a deity).

[Jimbo S]

56. Midwest German here

My family always used it, so I always have.

A lot of German heritage in this part of the country, that may play a role.

[wildhorses]

59. it really does

like an echo, kinda :hi:

[Seabiscuit]

61. I say: "Time to get a new nose" n/t

[LanternWaste]

62. Pretty much all the time... except when I'm on DU

Pretty much all the time...

except on DU when it can only mean I'm forcing my religion down someone's throat :sarcasm:


(well, that and I can't really hear someone sneezing on DU. Maybe we should have an emoticon for that)

[MissHoneychurch]

63. Well "Bless you" would call for strange looks over here

so I rather say "Gesundheit"

But when I am in company with English speaking people I do say "Bless you"

[wildhorses]

66. what is the literal translation for gesundheit?

does it literally mean "good health"?

[Redstone]

67. The best translation would be "healthiness." Gesund means healthy, and the suffix

"heit" denotes a state of being, much like the English suffix "hood."

So, literally, it would translate to "healthyhood."

Redstone

[Dervill Crow]

64. I say "blessed be."

It usually makes them think for a minute and halts any subsequent sneezing.

[pink-o]

70. I say...

..."The kleenex box is over there."