Do yourself and everyone you know a favor–fight the nearly uncontrollable urge to say see you next year today.
I know that it’s New Year’s Eve, which means that the next time you’ll see many people, it will, indeed, be next year. That’s how it works when we all use the same calendar! I know that nearly every 12-year-old in the country thinks that saying it is the epitome of cleverness. I know that you’ve said it to your co-workers every December 31 for the last two decades. I know that everyone says it to you. I know. I know. I know.
And so does everyone else, so don’t say it!
In my upcoming book, I have a chapter called You Thought You Were Clever, But…, and saying see you next year on December 31 is a classic example of the everyone-knows-it’s-no-longer-clever-but-we-still-say-it line that made me write that chapter–and, perhaps more important, annoys everyone!
Try Happy New Year instead. It works just as well, and you’re more likely to not spend Near Year’s Eve alone with Dick Clark (and that Seacrest guy).
–Paul
Paul’s book–Literally, the Best Language Book Ever
Everything Language and Grammar 