How often do you say “good day” to greet someone?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: A Turandot scene[YSaerTTEW443543]
Never.
Maybe our grandgrandparents did. 
Some Aussies do, but it comes out as “G’day”.
I think some Brits say “good day” when they are being funny.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: The cycle lane[YSaerTTEW443543]
On this side of the pond, “Good day” might be used as a very formal dismissal, and therefore would be closer in meaning to “Goodbye”.
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In BrE, I can’t imagine “good day!” as anything other than a would-be humorous or mock-archaic greeting or valediction; perhaps Shakespearean:
I wouldn’t call it common, though.
“G’day” in a mock Australian accent is also sometimes heard.
MrP
It would be closer in meaning to, “You’re fired!”
Or it could mean, “Do that one more time and you’re fired! Now, get out of here!”
On reflection, perhaps it’s still current as a greeting/valediction with some older speakers of BrE.
MrP
So where is the reference to Shakespeare in this scene?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: The horse cab[YSaerTTEW443543]
I would assign that to the “mildly jocular” category. It also indicates that we are about to meet an unusual character.
I should have added earlier that, for some speakers, mildly humorous forms become habitual. Thus “Crikey!”, which had mostly fallen into disuse, except in children’s books and comics, underwent a revival as an ironic exclamation in the 1990s; some speakers now use it habitually, with little or no irony.
All the best,
MrP
Hi everyone,
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts on this.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: A knight on horse[YSaerTTEW443543]
I think that in North America “crikey” was generally not known at all until that Australian guy showed up on the TV show “Croc Files”.
And also by Aussies living in Britain, without the mock accent.
Mr P, do you really live in Britain, or is it British English that you live in?
You had already mentioned the AusE usage.
My post related to speakers of BrE.
All the best,
MrP
As a footnote:
“Good day” also seems to be common as an everyday greeting in Nigerian English.
On this page, for instance, which provides translations from Nigerian English into local Nigerian languages, it is listed with other common phrases:
[url]Motherland Nigeria: Languages & Greetings
I suspect that it’s also common elsewhere in Africa; many “419” emails of African provenance begin with the phrase.
All the best,
MrP
Hi,
I often do use this ‘expression’. Actually, if I recall correctly, my introductory post here commenced with ‘good day’. (Usage of ‘commenced’ correct?)
Regards
This is obviously interference from Bulgarian, where “добър ден” is a more common greeting than “good day” is in English.
The usage of “commenced” is correct, but it would sound either super-formal or super-hillbilly, depending on the context. It’s more common to say “started” or “began”.
The only thing wrong in your message was the use of slashes instead of parentheses. This isn’t done in English, and it may take people quite a while to figure out what the slashes are for.
I don’t use it. Sounds like oldies-speak.
I’m not so sure. Here is one of the first examples I turned up:
He describes himself as an IT student. He can’t be very old; his “little brother” barges into his room at one point; and:
MrP