emanon Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Can anyone think of some good, objective alternatives to superstitious phrases like: Good Luck Best Wishes Fingers Crossed etc ? I always hesitate writing these, because I don't like them. I'm not sure if this is just me, but I always feel a little like I'm cheating someone when I wish them good luck. The intention is to imply that it would make me happy if the person went well in ____ (whatever the thing was), but I often feel that by saying it, I'm disqualifying their prior work and effort in favor of some imaginary force. However, I can't think of any decent alternative phrase which offer the same sort of gesture without invoking 'luck' etc. or sounding... overly serious and a bit weird, I guess? So any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eiuol Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 "Do your best." That one is my personal favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASKN Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 "Do your best." Good one! I was just going to say to use the established phrases, as everyone understands the real meaning behind them. But I do like, "Do your best!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Interestingly, Dr. Peikoff, in his history of philosophy course said that, if I remember correctly, the Christians took Plato's "Form of the Good," dropped an "o" and added a personality, and they got "God." (Which makes sense.) I can't bring myself to say either, "Thank God!" or "God bless you!," but Miss Rand offers an interesting point in support of using those phrases in that clip of her interview with Tom Snyder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberrybird Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 Nice! Someone once told me "be good" and I've kept it in my vocabulary ever since. To me, it means the same thing as "do your best," or "be good" but it's a bit more casual in my ears. "Do your best." That one is my personal favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc K. Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 You could borrow Miss Rand's signature line "Good premises" (which might not be a good idea) or make up one of your own along those lines: - Thinking of you - Good thoughts - Rationally yours - mindfully - in mindful harmony - thoughtfully yours - in appeal to your rationality - reasonably - etc. etc. I think better than "Thank God" is "Thank goodness" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenzing_Shaw Posted July 23, 2010 Report Share Posted July 23, 2010 "Do your best." That one is my personal favorite. I like this one also. With people who understand it, I also like the Japanese word "Gambatte", which means close to the same thing (interestingly, the use of this word in Japanese is approximately analogous to the use of "good luck" in English). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kainscalia Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 You mean the phrase "Ganbatte kudasai"--- in Japanese you don't have a singular "m" sound, but there is a singular "n" appended to syllables-- and almost without exception all syllables end in a vowel, not a consonant (that's why the singular 'n' is appended) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altan Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 Interesting topic emanon. I've found myself saying 'good luck' to various people before, say an exam, or something of the kind. I've never thought much about it but now that you mention it..I guess since it's such a common thing to say, it's lost its 'original' meaning as in the superstitious sense, but rather indicates that you bid them well(?). Do your best would be more suitable though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanon Posted July 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 "Do your best". That work well enough I think. I'm not sure why I couldn't think of it myself though. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenzing_Shaw Posted July 24, 2010 Report Share Posted July 24, 2010 You mean the phrase "Ganbatte kudasai"--- in Japanese you don't have a singular "m" sound, but there is a singular "n" appended to syllables-- and almost without exception all syllables end in a vowel, not a consonant (that's why the singular 'n' is appended) Thank you for the clarification; I learned Japanese when I was young, and have never studied it formally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelconservative Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Live long and prosper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanon Posted July 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 ^^ haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted August 27, 2011 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 (edited) I do not think that I'll ever be able to use or hear the phrase "good luck" the same after having seen the movie "Taken," thanks to Marco from Tropojë. YouTube: " Edited August 27, 2011 by Trebor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig24 Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 "May all of your efforts yield a positive outcome." Too wordy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aequalsa Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 "Make good choices"...but that may be my inner Montessorian taking over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 "Fortune favors the bold" JASKN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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