Among the most imbecilic innovations in contemporary American speech is the retort “No worry/worries” as a substitute for “You’re welcome” in response to the words “Thank you.” This new phrase can be heard emanating from the mouths of younger speakers such as servers in the hospitality trades.
“No worries” can now be added to “No problem.” Why “You’re welcome” is going out of use can only be ascribed to the general tendency in American English to increase the store of clichés of all stripes.
MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Wikipedia says “no worries” (always in the plural) has Australian roots. “No worries is an expression seen in English meaning “do not worry about that”, “that’s all right”, “she’ll be alright”, “over the shoulder”, “forget about it” or “sure thing”. It is similar to the US English “no problem”. The phrase is widely used in Australian 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.”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_worries Another source comments: “it is telling the person that the event was no big deal and it does not require an apology or a thank you.” The Spanish equivalent, “de nada,” is very commonly used in NYC and, I recently discovered, in New Mexico.
Thanks for the information, Gary!
You’re welcome. I’ll be on the lookout for other Australianisms.