english slang

Hello friends

My good greetings to you all. I have just found this site and I find it interesting.

At the moment I have one question to ask.

what does the slang"and a merry chistmass to you mean?"

I've only heard it as a way of replying to someone around Christmas time.

CUSTOMER: "Thanks so much and have a merry Christmas!"
CLERK: "And a merry Christmas to you, sir!"

Hello everybody!!!

I've just found this site and i'm really enjoying it!!!

I got something to ask: How can i say a British slang "play gooseberry" in American slang?

Hugs for all!!!

Bubu:

Hi

Here in the UK "And a Merry Christmas to you!" should not be taken at face value all the time! It can be used in a cynical and sarcastic manner whatever the season of the year.

An example of that is when someone says something critical or harsh to you then walks away in disgust or whatever, and you are left speechless. So you say: "And a Merry Christmas to you!" or "And a Merry Christmas to you, too!"

Maybe it has something to do with the attitude to life in general shown by Dickens' Scrooge!

Yeah, what Damian said is true here in the U.S. too.

Sometimes I don't scour my brain hard enough for these obscure expressions.

It is not actually even slang at all!

'A merry christmas to you' is just another way of saying 'Have a happy christmas'

Jorge. People seem to be ignoring your question. I can't answer it properly, being English, but another way of saying it is "chaperoning".

Thank you Damien,

This is exactly Iwhat had guessed when I fiound the expression in in a context [it was not christmass time]

Thank you everybody for your effort to answer my question.I really find this site very friendly.

Dear jeorge,

It's just a stroke of luck that i heard this expression "play gooseberry" when i was in England

It perhaps means to interfere with the privacy of a couple who are supposed to left alone for romance.

but let's wait and see what the others say about it.

Thank you all