John McGiver
Walter Burnley
Search results
Have many more happy days, especially birthdays. What's the origin of the phrase 'Many happy returns'? Since the 18th century this has been used as a salutation to offer the hope that a happy day being marked would recur many more times.
Mar 18, 2022 · The meaning of (MANY) HAPPY RETURNS is —used for wishing someone a happy birthday and to express the hope that he or she will live to celebrate many more birthdays in the future.
Also, many happy returns of the day. Happy birthday and many more of them, as in I came by to wish you many happy returns. This expression was first recorded in a letter of 1779 where the writer meant "Happy New Year," but the present meaning has persisted since the second half of the 1800s.
4 days ago · When it is someone's birthday, people sometimes say ' Many happy returns ' to them as a way of greeting them. [ formulae ] See full dictionary entry for return
Many happy returns means that the speaker wishes that the listener will have many happy years to live. The phrase is shortened from the sentiment many happy returns of the day, which has been a greeting used since the 1700s.
Many happy returns of the day to you—(it was the first of the new year)—I never spent so miserable a one.
“Many happy returns of the day” is a formal way to say Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, or any other day one would wish to return. The earliest recorded use of the phrase was documented by Lady Newdigate of London, England on May 31, 1789.
