CuddlyCassowary

My eye just started twitching remembering the amount of shitty ramen I survived on. If I was feeling really fancy on my trans-living-room jaunt, I might have indulged in some watered down powdered mashed potatoes.

lol - and now we sound like a community for Irish toasts! Sláinte!

And that largely works when you know the receiver has been brought up with the same social context and background for the expression, but relying on that can leave the door cracked for misinterpretation. Probably not a huge risk, but over time nuances can make a difference.

To your point adding “I hope…” makes a huge difference! I’m sure some would say that’s implied in “Have a great race,” but human brains aren’t always the best at picking up inferences, especially when stress is in the mix, so why not take a half second longer to make sure the underlying meaning is clear? (As you do!)

Linguistic psychology is some interesting stuff. Once you delve into it outside of English, that rabbit hole seems never ending…heck, even just sticking with English!

Wow, you weren’t kidding. They sound insufferable.

I don’t like the underlying premise that you should tell another person how to behave at all. “Have a nice day!” “Have fun.” Anything along those lines. What is largely overlooked as an option in this post is that if you get in touch with your own joy / excitement / appreciation / etc. the experience brings you and are able to communicate that to the giver, that is generally very effective.

I’ve noticed a trend where people are saying “I appreciate you,” and while that can sound a bit trite depending on delivery, at least it indicates that for that moment, their thinking was focused on how your behavior positively contributed to their day.

So, I do my very best to be authentic and say things like, “I’m so happy to be part of this with you.” “I can’t wait to watch you perform.” And even for F1 drivers, “I want you to know how much I’ve been looking forward to this, and how much I value what you do out there.”

“Good luck” is a bit of a totem statement. Sure, it’s largely out of anyone’s control, but another way it can be interpreted is “there are a lot of variables in what you’re about to do, and I hope they all work in your favor.” You see this sentiment in numerous forms, “bon voyage,” “safe travels,” “may the winds be ever in your favor” (we all say this all the time, right?). It’s not meant to downplay what someone has put into their own efforts, but to acknowledge that ON TOP of that the world is an unpredictable place. It basically translates to, “I’m rooting for you!”

Personally, I would much rather hear “good luck,” than “have fun.” If you’ve ever been told to “Smile!” when you’re not feeling it, that’s how “Have fun!” can come across. So for a soccer game, I would say something like, “I’m super excited to watch you play! I’ll be cheering my head off for ya!” You are telling them that their hard work and effort is meaningful to you, regardless of the outcome. If you’re really into saying “have fun,” at least “I hope you have fun out there,” turns it into less of a mandate and more just good wishes.

So, good luck with figuring out what to say…

“The Office”

Not my location, but Scranton, PA?

See?!? Once again we’re a nation of overachievers! USA! USA!

/s in case it wasn’t abundantly obvious

This isn’t at all what you asked for, but since you mentioned something to potentially listen to at work, you might want to check out Third Rock Radio which is a music station that NASA collaborates on. Instead of “DJs” you get mission updates and “space stuff” between playlists.

https://www.thirdrockradio.net/

Awesome! Thank you. It was crazy to me how controversial a topic it was when I searched it. And like I said, the photos were quite varied. I appreciate the opinions of the French experts (you)!

Ooh, thank you! It’s actually not soft, and crumbles nicely when broken. I’ll take better photos (action shots!) next time. Your photo example is quite helpful!