mercy buckets

English

Alternative forms

• merci buckets

Etymology

Jocular malapropism of French merci beaucoup (“thanks a lot”); influenced by buckets of (“lots of”).

Phrase

mercy buckets

1. (humorous) Thanks very much.
   • 1929 "Franklin W. Dixon" (Penguin, →ISBN) Hardy Boys 7: The Secret of the Caves, Chapter 16, p.89:

     "Well, anyhow, thanks a lot, Mr. Dumont," he added. "Mercy buckets, as you French say."

   • 2008 Jonathan Nasaw (Simon and Schuster, →ISBN) Fear Itself p.187:

     "Mercy buckets—a pleasure doing business with you, dude."

See also

• much grass