Certainly, it's also an alternative to the all-American, 'ghawd bless you.'

Here it is, don't faint: "I bless you."

Pretty simple, huh. But it carries a lot of portent. See, here in the USA, we all grew up with 'ghawd bless you.' But among the practicing and non-practicing atheists, et alia, I think changing it to "I bless you" is both a literal and a visceral poke in the eye to the (in my opinion) non-existant ghawd.'

La Saucie and I now look forward to sneezing, so we can take turns blessing each other.

"I bless you." What a poke in the eye it is to custom and tradition! I'd add more, but quesadilla duty calls me!

Sneaky atheist that I am, i always leave the ghawd part off...a simple "bless you" allows the recipient to figure out for themselves who is doing the blessing.

I once had a Grade One student ask me why her eyes shut whenever she would "blushoo". Once I figured out that "blushoo" was how she heard "bless you", and that she thought that was what a sneeze was called, I resolved to adopt that word, and I've used it ever since. I like it much better than the original!

I generally say nothing. After all, the "bless you" thing is based on ignorant superstition in the first place.

Unless, of course, the person in question sneezes at/on me. At which point I think it's entirely appropriate to say, "Would you please point that somewhere else? Thank you." :)

My alternative is "do you need a tissue ?".

"GregS bless you."

GregS often speaks of GregS in the third person; it's important for the promotion of the GregS brand.

At home it is Bless You, we ignore sneezing at work since I work with people with allergies (me included). We have all agreed we would be saying it all day, so we just ignore it. At any given point in time, someone around here is sneezing.

How come no one ever says "god bless you" when you fart? In fact, you're expected to apologize when you do.

Sneezes and farts are both ways of discharging irritants.

I say whatever's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Farts get no love.

I've read that farts smell so that the hearing impaired can enjoy them too.

el ~ oh ~ el ~

First it's the war on Christmas, and now it's a war on sneezing? Where will it end???

with the priest's sign of the cross.

I bless people all the time, especially when they complain about being put out by someone, but yet, they did their duty. Saints.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2018 12:03AM by Beth.

That reminded me!! As a missionary in a Spanish-speaking, very Catholic country, we used to have fun mocking the priest-class by mimicking the very ostentatious sign of the cross while reciting, in English to a non-English speaking person or group, in a very somber, yet sing-songy voice, "I can play dominoes better than you can play dominoes, AHmen."

Catholic masses were still in Latin when my dad was an altar boy. He and the other altar boys had fun imitating the Latin chants:

"My father can beat your father at dominoes."

"Oh no he can't."

It's funnier in the original Reformed Egyptian.

I bless the rain down in Africa.

...and your little dog, too.

I'm melting! Melting!

What's wrong with "Gesundheit"? It has no religious connotations. It simply means "health" in German. Why is that a problem?

This was my question as well.

I say "salute!" Everybody loves an Italian.

There are two ways to respond in French: "à tes souhaits" (to your wishes) or, more deliciously and just right for elderoldog and Saucie, "à tes amours" (to your loves).

Tom, currently in Mallorca

I love that.... it fits !!!!! Thank you Tom.

"Need a tissue?"

olderelder Wrote:
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> "Need a tissue?"


Do I look like Boner to you?

Where's my frikkin' rimshot when I need it????

Remember that Seinfeld suggested saying, "You are so good-looking!"

I tell people who say "God bless you" that it originates in the belief that the soul was vulnerable to the devil when a person sneezed. That usually gives most believers cause to think.

I went on a mission to Germany, so Gesundheit will suffice. Besides, our son thinks its funny.