"loads of thanks" - ???

Question

Hello!My colleague at work asked me to publish a weekly report on a corporate web site. Upon completion I responded to her message with just "done!" in the message body. She replied me with "loads of thanks to you". Having never heard of such construction I tried to correct her thinkning of what she had really meant was "Lots of thanks" or "Thanks a lot". However I later received her point of view stating that:(below there is a part of her message)OkI'll try to explain u what I meantmy phrase that sounded like "loads of thanks" is equal to your one "lots of thanks" - its not a mistakehowever "loads" means much more than "lots"its a bit from the spoken british languageI used this one just to emphasize how much I appreciated you'd done it so fast - good job )Me too wish you - a nice dayMy question is:Is she right or wrong? Do you guys either in Great Britain or in the U.S. use this weird construction "loads of thanks" ?TIA,Vsevolod

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hello! My colleague at work asked me to publish a weekly report on a corporateweb site. Upon completion I responded ... wrong? Do you guys either in Great Britain or in the U.S. use this weird construction "loads of thanks" ?[/nq]
I don't know about the Brits, but in the US, "loads" means the same thing as "lots", or "much".
As an informal expression, it shouldn't be examined very closely. "Loads" could be short for truckloads, shiploads, trainloads of any item.

I have heard it used to describe degrees of shame, embarrassment, thanks, love, talent, praise and many other abstract qualities.

We might also say that "Jane is loaded with talent (etc.)" It just means that a generous quantity is involved. Even "loads of money". When someone is wealthy, we might say "He is loaded". We have to watch the context of the conversation with that, because in the US, "He is loaded" can mean he is drunk. And with a baby, it can mean he needs his diaper changed.

We can get rather crude with the expression, saying "He has a shitload of . . .", and I know that on another newsgroup a Brit said "shedload of. . . " That indicates to me that perhaps the Brits use the expression "loads of" in the same way we do in the US.
All of these figurative expressions are intended to intensify or exaggerate the quantity.

Usenet · Answer

Pat> We can get rather crude with the expression, saying "He has a Pat> shitload of . . .", and I know that on another newsgroup a Pat> Brit said "shedload of. . . " That indicates to me that Pat> perhaps the Brits use the expression "loads of" in the same Pat> way we do in the US.
In the UK "loads of" would typically be used in a literal sense ("loads of chocolate") but not to describe something intangiable ("loads of thanks", "loads of joy"). "Lots" would be more appropriate in this sense, at least in normal usage.
Similarly, I very often hear my US collegues use "bunch" as a generic collective noun ("a bunch of doughnuts"), often for something intangible ("a buch of data") or not existing in discrete units ("a whole bunch of coffee"), where as in the UK it's use is limited to flowers, grapes, and so on.
AndyC

+ +
[nq:1]Andy Cunningham aka AndyC the WB > andy -at- cunningham.me.uk >+ + http://www.p38a.co.uk - Everything you wanted to know > ... afraid to ask. >+ + "And everything we want to get/We download from the Internet All we hear is/Internet Ga-Ga/Cyberspace Goo-goo"[/nq]
from "Radio Ga Ga"/"We will rock you"

Usenet · Answer

Everything Pat says is right, but there's more.
In the US, we say, "Get a load of that!" The speaker is usually looking at a spectacular babe, or, sometimes, a befuddled Englishman.

Then there are "loaded" dice, which have been carefully and invisibily altered by adding weights inside them so that they always come up seven, or snake eyes, whichever the loader prefers.

And the "loaded statement," which implies something more than it says.
Useful word.
Carter
Carter Jefferson
http://carterj.homestead.com/

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello! My colleague at work asked me to publish a weekly report on a corporate web site. Upon completion I ... you guys either in Great Britain or in the U.S. use this weird construction "loads of thanks" ? TIA, Vsevolod[/nq]
English is a weird language, and yes, we, in America at least, do use that weird construction.
The expression we are taught as children is "Thank you"; the informal expression is "Thanks." It feels like a noun and, as it ends with an s, a plural noun. One thank, two thanks, many thanks, lots of thanks, loads of thanks... "Loads of..." is an informal way of expressing lots and lots, a whole bunch, more than can fit into one wheelbarrow or one truck.
Cece

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hello! My colleague at work asked me to publish a weekly report on a corporateweb site. Upon completion I responded ... good job

) Me too wish you - a nice day == My question is: Is she right or wrong?[/nq]
Right.
[nq:1]Do you guys either in Great Britain or in the U.S. use this weird construction "loads of thanks" ?[/nq]
Don't know why you call this construction "weird". Why is it weirder than "lots of"? Having said that, I wouldn't say that "Loads of thanks to you" is a common turn of phrase. Come Valentine's Day, though, there'll be loads of cards signed "Loads of love from X".
Adrian

Usenet · Answer

I hope I get a few. (Deej, hint, hint, nudge nudge!) But I see nothing wrong with "loads of thanks" used informally by a grateful colleague.

wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England

"loads of thanks" - ???

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