Have a good one
Ever since I’ve been in the US everybody seems to say, “Have a good one.”
Is this a Boston thing? Or something that creeped into the general language over the last few years?
I’m sure it was not an almost universal way of saying goodbye when I was last here. Everybody seems to use it – store clerks, receptionists, nurses, people in the elevator … Almost everybody.
It sounds a bit … off to me. A bit too casual or something. And of course you can’t help but think, “A good what?”
“Have a good one” means “Have a good day, week, time, whatever. Wishing you well. It’s been around for a long time. I’m in California and people say it here as well. How long since you’ve been in the states? Also, I think we are far more casual in our communications with strangers/customers/those we don’t know well here in the states than elsewhere. I’ve not been to Japan, but I’ve noticed it when I’ve traveled to Great Britain, Europe and Scandinavia.
My last visit was 3 ½ years ago.
I believe that idiomatic expression evolved from a common response to “Have a nice day”, which seems to have replaced “Goodbye” especially in a business setting or among people who aren’t particularly close. A natural response to “Have a nice day” was “You have a good one too” and eventually “Have a good one” became a standalone expression.
Sounds like a reasonable explanation.