Talk:good night

Goodnight Vienna is pretty obscure, if you ask me. --Connel MacKenzie 09:13, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

15,800 hits on Google for the phrase. SemperBlotto 10:52, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the example. I now consider myself enlightened, by it. Keep up the great entries! --Connel MacKenzie 11:04, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Is it really correct to write "goodnight"? Perhaps that should be listed as a disputed usage. It's as silly as "goodmorning" or "goodevening". Maybe it's an American English thing? American English uses compounds much more than British. For example, in American English you can write "anymore", but in British English it's always "any more". In American English you always write "forever"; in British English, "for ever" is used for the literal meaning and "forever" for the metaphorical. --217.44.206.191 11:58, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Greetings never got compounded; true, but this farewell goodnight is *very* common in America. In America, writing any more when talking about the time-period will get you laughed at...but we do often say we don't want any more taxes. Taking your comment, though, I think good night does deserve the loathed "Usage note" added for clarification. On a really fine-weather night, you could say it is a good night but never a goodnight. The farewell/goToBed meaning is about half good night and half goodnight. --Connel MacKenzie 12:21, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

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good night

The US Army sense, while plausible, could do with some verification, considering its obscurity. It may very well be a protologism. Dominic·t 09:12, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

I'm fairly sure I've seen it used in English literature at least once. Could've been anywhere between 1900 and 1970 (give or take). I couldn't even begin to try and track it down, though. (I don't know where the US Army part comes from.) — SheeEttin {T/C} 04:22, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

RFV failed, sense removed. Anyone who can cite this (either as a U.S. Army–ism, as the definition had, or not, as SheeEttin suggests), please re-add it and do so. —Ruakh_TALK 07:49, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Archaic?

From when I was a kid (I'm now 55), I remember relatives using the phrase "good night" as an expression of displeasure, like "What is the world coming to?" or "I can't take this any more. I have to go." For instance, "She is a complete scumbag! Good night!" with the "Good night!" said in a loud, negative, emotional tone.

I think I've heard this too, somewhere. I wonder if it's not used as substitute for similar-sounding profanity: I've occasionally heard people say "God bless America", in a manner that makes it sound like they wanted to say some profanity starting with the same word, but substituted something innocuous at the last second.