How do Britons say "Thank you" ?

This poll of 3,000 persons performed by a gift company is presumably not claimed to be precise, but I find it interesting to note the variety of expressions people use in place of "thank you."

Forty per cent of those polled said they believe saying 'thank you' sounds too formal, and would rather heap praise using colloquial terms like 'fab', 'lovely' or 'wicked'.

Almost half of those polled said they now use 'cheers' more often than 'thank you', while other popular phrases include 'ta', 'cool', and 'great'.  A third said they would often just resort to a quick wave instead of saying 'thank you'...

Here are the top 20 expressions of gratitude:
1. Cheers
2. Ta
3. That's great
4. Cool
5. OK
6. Brilliant
7. Lovely
8. Nice one
9. Much appreciated
10. You star
11. All right
12. Fab
13. Awesome
14. Wicked
15. Merci
16. Danke
17. Gracias
18. Super
19. Ace
20. Thank you

The decline in standards manifests itself in the fact that four in ten people no longer send thank you letters if they receive gifts through the post, and the same percentage would not make their children send a thank you either, the study said.

In our extended family, if you don't send a thank-you note, you're at high risk of not receiving a subsequent present.