Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. www.phrases.org.uk › meanings › many-happy-returnsMany Happy Returns - Meaning & Origin Of The Phrase

   www.phrases.org.uk › meanings › many-happy-returns

   • Cached

   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.

2. www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › (many) happy(many) happy returns Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

   www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › (many) happy

   • Cached

   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.

3. crossidiomas.com › many-happy-returnsUnderstanding "many happy returns" Idiom: Meaning, Origins ...

   crossidiomas.com › many-happy-returns

   • Cached

   While “many happy returns” may sound like a positive wish, it actually originated from an old English custom of returning gifts on one’s birthday. Therefore, the correct usage of this idiom is to say “I hope you have many happy returns of the day”, which means wishing the person many more birthdays filled with joy and prosperity.

4. www.collinsdictionary.com › many-happy-returnsDefinition of 'many happy returns' - Collins Online Dictionary

   www.collinsdictionary.com › many-happy-returns

   • Cached

   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

5. grammarist.com › phrase › many-happy-returnsMany happy returns - GRAMMARIST

   grammarist.com › phrase › many-happy-returns

   • Cached

   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.

6. english.stackexchange.com › questions › 40502meaning - What does "Many, many happy returns of the day ...

   english.stackexchange.com › questions › 40502

   • Cached

   Therefore "many happy returns of the day" would be a wishing a person a rewarding day, full of happiness. The first explanation implies we are wishing that their birthday will return many more times - in other words, "May you live long".

7. idioms.thefreedictionary.com › many+happy+returnsMany happy returns - Idioms by The Free Dictionary

   idioms.thefreedictionary.com › many+happy+returns

   • Cached

   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.