Thanks, but no thanks

[medic]

The phrases "Thanks, but no thanks" and simply "No, thanks" confuse me a bit. Which one is correct? If both are, which one should be used when?

 

[Zathras]

How about...

"Thanks, but no thanks" means "I really appreciate your offer, but I must decline"

"No, thanks" means "No"

 

[sleipnir214]

The two are not interchangeable.

No, thanks or No, thank you is a polite refusal of some offer.

Thanks, but no thanks is a facetious way of thanking someone for having made the offer, but making it clear that you are emphatic in refusing it.



Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Zathras]

Whoa... Almost completely opposite.

I take "Thanks, but no thanks" in a simple non-facetious way having two parts that say first "Thanks for the offer," and second "No, thanks" a polite way to decline. (at least we agree on that part.)

 

[wuneyej]

I'm in complete agreement with sleipnir214. Thanks, but no thanks has a definite facetious ring to it, at least where I come from.

 

[medic]

I was about ask which one is more polite. Thank you all for elaborating more on this.

 

[rosieb]

In the UK, it's certainly facetious.

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[CajunCenturion]

I agree that it is generally a facetious remark, but it is usually a response to a facetious offer.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[MikeBarone]

I agree. It is usually used to express clearly to the person making the offer that their gesture is unwelcomed.

When it is being read it is impossible of hearing the inflection being used in the decliners voice, this makes it impossible to tell.

I never use that phrase. There are much better ways of saying it, as Zathrus so eloquently pointed out.

Mike Barone

http://www.cgiscript.net

FREE CGI/Perl Scripts & JavaScript Generators

 

[Thadeus]

Mom: Want to come over for dinner Sunday?
Me: Thanks, but no, thanks... I'm gonna watch the game with some friends.

Maybe it is just my family, but we would use this in a completely non-facetious way.


(Not to say mom wouldn't be offended by my choice...)

~Thadeus

 

[ESquared]

no, thanks" = The answer to your offer is no, but I thank you for it.

Without the comma, it takes on a new feeling entirely:

"no thanks" = I do not thank you for the offer (and must not be accepting it, either).

But Thadeus used different punctuation. "Thanks, but no, thanks" = I thank you for the offer, but the answer is no, and I thank you for it. Again. [thankful, but redundantly so]

So "Thanks, but no thanks" = I thank you for your offer, but then again, I don't really thank you for your offer. [sarcastic or facetious]

E²

P.S. Thadeus, you say thanks twice as a matter of course?

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[donbott]

I think "Thanks, but no" is the polite way to turn down a genuine offer, "Thanks but no thanks" is facetious or sarcastic.

DonBott

 

[Dimandja]

Do you feel like going to school today?"
"No."

"How about some pepper on your salad?"
"No, thanks."

"Can I offer you some dope?"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Or, just say "no".

It's granulated, like SQL locks.