Once considered the only polite way to express gratitude, 'thank you' is a dying phrase, a new poll has revealed.
No longer ‘minding their Ps and Qs’, Britons are eschewing the traditional expression in favour of slang terms such as “cheers”, “nice one”, “cool” and even the French word “merci”.
But good manners have not fallen by the wayside in Britain just yet.
The average Briton still says thank you up to 5,000 times a year. What's more, as many as 95% still said they believe good manners are important and eight in 10 felt that Britons are polite.
The survey was commissioned by television channel Food Network UK to coincide with the launch of Thank You Day.
Nick Thorogood, the managing director of Food Network, said: “This highlights that taking the time and effort to say thanks is still very important to us. People will always find the way that works best for them."