I have no idea where the expression “No worries!” comes from but I despise it. For me it generates even greater revulsion than, “That’s between you and I” because it transcends the purely technical realm of grammar and descends to some kind of yucky emotional presumption. To my utter surprise this morning, after receiving a message on my Apple Watch, one of the automatic suggested responses was, “No worries!” which I mockingly employed but which was completely useless and irrelevant to the original message I had sent about contact with a tradesman. More relevantly it was only last evening at table that we had discussed the offensive use of the phrase.
No worries is an expression seen in English meaning “do not worry about that“, “that’s all right”, “forget about it” or “sure thing”.
Could you tell me what is correct to use? Should I say “don’t worry” or “no worries”? Is there any difference? Both are fine, they mean the same thing. No worries is just a little less formal. “don’t worry” is an assuring way to ease some one up while “no worries” is often used to make the other one sure that he would have no problem in doing the task or so.
Regrettably usage of the phrase is common among staff. This means that it is popularly employed (unwittingly I presume) to manifest that one’s preference or requirement of something is somehow relieved of a hidden difficulty or complication which naturally totally contradicts the function of the employee and its employer. I would imagine that, if asked, the staff would be unable to explain why there were any worries in the first place. In short, the expression has become an interjection of unwarranted and unnecessary accommodation.
Usage of the phrase does however demonstrate the significance of sound in language; that is, the reliability of dialect to ensure one’s meaning. By extension the plausibility of the phrase is entirely lost in its rendition in Canadian, American or British English wherein the usage is transformed from a slap on the back to an expression of disregard or utter hyperbole. It becomes embroidery of mere puffery instead of a compliment of remote care or indifference.
No worries is an expression seen in English meaning “do not worry about that”, “that’s all right”, “forget about it” or “sure thing”. It is similar to the American English”no problem“. The phrase is widely used in Australian and New Zealand speech and represents a feeling of friendliness, good humour, optimism and “mateship” in Australian culture. The phrase has been referred to as the national motto of Australia.
The annoyance of the phrase beyond Australia likely derives from its improper alliance with culture. It has in the process of its South Pacific migration been removed from a term of endearment to one of meaningless apology.
Early documentation dates the phrase back to 1966. According to author of When Cultures Collide: Leading Across Cultures, Richard D. Lewis, the phrase is a form of expression of the relaxed attitude in Australian culture. Anna Wierzbicka comments that the expression illustrates important parts of Australian culture, including: “amiability, friendliness, an expectation of shared attitudes (a proneness to easy ‘mateship’), jocular toughness, good humour, and, above all, casual optimism”. She concludes that along with “good on you”, the expressions reflect the “national character” and “prevailing ethos” of Australia.
Happily usage of the phrase is predominantly limited to young people who have the excuse of inexperience and youth. It is such a disjointed manufacture that ignorance is essentially its only relieving ingredient. It would constitute extraordinary alarm to hear anyone over 21 years of age use the expression. To me it is at a minimum a flippant dismissal or at its best a misguided aggrandizement of oneself. It succeeds only to leave me questioning why or what was such a worry to begin with; and most certainly I haven’t any idea how the person fathomed I was worried at all. It is an invasion of privacy!