thanks to

thanks to
thanks to

• Thanks to the rank stupidity of Steve Gillery's bride-to-be, he had to hold his stag night on Saturday morning and rush off to the ceremony during half-time in the afternoon —M. Gist, 1993.

This ironic use, in which thanks to is an equivalent of because of or due to, occurs in contexts where thanks are hardly appropriate, but it is attested from the 18c (and earlier in the form no thanks to), and its credentials are therefore sound. Meanwhile the straightforward use of thanks to continues in use:

• Thanks to better budgeting, I haven't been overdrawn since early 2003 —finance website, BrE 2005 [OEC].


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • thanks — [thaŋks] pl.n. 〚pl. of ME thank < OE thanc, thanks: see THANK〛 an expression of gratitude; grateful acknowledgment of something received by or done for one interj. thank you thanks to 1. thanks be given to …   Universalium

  • Thanks! — Single par GAM extrait de l’album 1st GAM Amai Yūwaku Face A Thanks! Face B Shinkirō Romance Sortie 13 septembre 2006 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • thanks — ► PLURAL NOUN 1) an expression of gratitude. 2) another way of saying thank you (see THANK(Cf. ↑thank)). ● no thanks to Cf. ↑no thanks to ● thanks to …   English terms dictionary

  • thanks — [thaŋks] pl.n. [pl. of ME thank < OE thanc, thanks: see THANK] an expression of gratitude; grateful acknowledgment of something received by or done for one interj. thank you thanks to 1. thanks be given to 2. on account of; because of …   English World dictionary

  • thanks to — (someone/something) because of someone or something. Thanks to Sandy, I found this great apartment. Thanks to his fitness, Roberto recovered from the injury fairly quickly …   New idioms dictionary

  • thanks to — ► thanks to due to. Main Entry: ↑thanks …   English terms dictionary

  • thanks — index recognition Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • thanks — (n.) mid 14c., from THANK (Cf. thank) (v.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • thanks to — the untiring support of my wife, I ve gotten back on my feet Syn: as a result of, owing to, due to, because of, through, as a consequence of, on account of, by virtue of, by dint of, by reason of …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • thanks — [n] spoken or written appreciation acknowledgment, benediction, blessing, credit, grace, gramercy, gratefulness, gratitude, praise, recognition, thankfulness, thanksgiving, thank you note; concepts 60,69,278 Ant. criticism …   New thesaurus

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