Word meaning "good wishes" or "wishes of good fortune"

K

kurros

Registered Senior Member
I found myself trying to write the phrase:

"And it appears that birthday _____s are in order"

in which the blank was supposed to be a word meaning "wishes of happiness" or "wishes of good fortune" or something along those lines, but despite wasting the last 15 minutes wracking my brain and online thesaurus' I have been unable to come up with an appropriate word. It is irritating me now so I turn to you fine members of the linguistics board.

The best I have come up with is "blessings", but that doesn't feel right. I was thinking of something more like "commiserations", except that that obviously conveys the wrong emotion. It is supposed to be the equivalent of saying that it appears that I should say "happy birthday".

Ideas?
 
kurros said:
I found myself trying to write the phrase:

"And it appears that birthday _____s are in order"

in which the blank was supposed to be a word meaning "wishes of happiness" or "wishes of good fortune" or something along those lines, but despite wasting the last 15 minutes wracking my brain and online thesaurus' I have been unable to come up with an appropriate word. It is irritating me now so I turn to you fine members of the linguistics board.

The best I have come up with is "blessings", but that doesn't feel right. I was thinking of something more like "commiserations", except that that obviously conveys the wrong emotion. It is supposed to be the equivalent of saying that it appears that I should say "happy birthday".

Ideas?
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Just say

I am wishing you a happy birthday!

Simple and straightforward works miracles.
 
Spankings . One for every year you are old . God what is the matter with you . Never heard of that ? It was common back in the day . Teen age boys would bust the shit out of each other if they was pals . Don't ever try it on Me though . I will brake your little finger if you do
 
kurros said:
I found myself trying to write the phrase: "And it appears that birthday _____s are in order" in which the blank was supposed to be a word meaning "wishes of happiness" or "wishes of good fortune" or something along those lines, but despite wasting the last 15 minutes wracking my brain and online thesaurus' I have been unable to come up with an appropriate word. It is irritating me now so I turn to you fine members of the linguistics board. The best I have come up with is "blessings", but that doesn't feel right. I was thinking of something more like "commiserations", except that that obviously conveys the wrong emotion. It is supposed to be the equivalent of saying that it appears that I should say "happy birthday". Ideas?
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As others have noted, we usually say "Happy Birthday" rather than something like "Birthday Greetings." I'm guessing that "Christmas Greetings" is okay because it's Christmas for everybody, but a birthday is just for the recipient.
kurros said:
leopold99 said:
CB slang "3's and 8's".
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I don't get it.
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You're probably a couple of decades too young to remember Citizen's Band radios and the slang that accreted around them. We all know "10-4 good buddy" because 10-4 is police code, but most of the rest of CB slang was invented by truck drivers.
cosmictraveler said:
Kudos: Noun: Praise and honor received for an achievement
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Some people don't regard becoming one year older as an achievement. ;)
spidergoat said:
What's wrong with "wishes"?
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I think it would be interpreted correctly, but "Birthday Wishes" is an unusual greeting.

If Kurros is determined to use the grammatical format in the O.P., "birthday greetings are in order" would be acceptable.
 
Lol, well thanks for the effort anyway, but none of those feel right. Perhaps there is no word in modern English that does the job I want :p.

Note: I like the suggestion of "spankings" though :).
 
spidergoat said:
Salutations
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A colder, more formal word for "greetings." Probably not what you want in a personal message.
Inebriations
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"Inebriated" means "drunk." If that's what you mean, hey go for it. ;)
Congratulations
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As I noted earlier, this is praise and acknowledgment for some sort of achievement. When and if I turn 90 in 2033, you can congratulate me for the achievement. The birthdays leading up to that may be milestones, but they're hardly something I will have achieved.

I suppose if a person has been treated for cancer or some other dire condition, then every year above ground is an achievement. But I don't think they'd like to be told that. ;)
Shout-outs
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Slang evolves quickly, but originally a shout-out was the mention of a famous name. Depending on context it could be simple name-dropping, or it could be the Fallacy of False Authority: This must be right because Daddy said so. If it means something else in modern slang then I'm probably not up to date. Let's hope the recipient of the birthday message is. ;)
Blessings
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This one has the proper denotation, but it carries the strong connotation of religion. If the blesser or the blessee is not religious, it can get awkward. I understand that mortals are allowed to bless each other on their own authority, but they rarely do. Perhaps we should do it more often.
 
“ Originally Posted by cosmictraveler
Kudos: Noun: Praise and honor received for an achievement ”

Some people don't regard becoming one year older as an achievement.
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That's true however many people do so your point isn't very strong besides it also means praise as well so that would fit even better wouldn't it?
 
cosmictraveler said:
That's true however many people do . . . .
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I'd want to be sure that the person I was congratulating for being one year older was one of those people. I don't know very many women who would appreciate it!
. . . . it also means praise as well so that would fit even better wouldn't it?
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But "praise" is something that's bestowed for an achievement. And it's stronger than praise. The dictionary equates it with words like honor, glory and acclaim. I just don't see myself deserving honor, glory or acclaim for turning 68 this year.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
I'd want to be sure that the person I was congratulating for being one year older was one of those people. I don't know very many women who would appreciate it!But "praise" is something that's bestowed for an achievement. And it's stronger than praise. The dictionary equates it with words like honor, glory and acclaim. I just don't see myself deserving honor, glory or acclaim for turning 68 this year.
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If I was 62 taken my last breath I might congratulate you on turning 68. Like the guy that was dieing taking his last breaths and he said " I can't believe Kieth Richards out lived Me. I can't believe it . Well congrats on making it thus far Frag . Now go achieve something meaningful all ready . What chew waiting for the world to change?
 
I'd want to be sure that the person I was congratulating for being one year older was one of those people. I don't know very many women who would appreciate it!
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When you get to be a seasoned citizen, every year that you make it through is very appreciated for many do not. That holds true for men and women.:itold:
 
Me-Ki-Gal said:
Like the guy that was dieing taking his last breaths and he said " I can't believe Kieth Richards out lived Me. I can't believe it.
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The Rolling Stones will never die. God can't allow it. They would turn Hell into such a party that everybody would want to go there.
What chew waiting for the world to change?
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No, I'm not waiting. I'm changing it myself. ;)
 
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