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This is very interesting. I think of it nowadays as mildly sarcastic, but I guess it can also be a statement of support and encouragement (in the form "More power to you!").
For example, this was found at Google Books. Judging by the oldest results there, could the phrase have an Irish origin?
Hmm, I've always used this in a much more positive sense:
If someone thinks that something about themselves is not so hot and I disagree, I might say "Hey, more power to ya!" to tell them so.
On the other hand, I can see how, depending on how it's used, and particularly how it's SAID, it could be spun in a number of ways.
I cannot recall hearing this phrase used in a sarcastic manner, though I can imagine how it might be interpreted as such. I have always heard the phrase as a reply to a person who has just described how he or she has decided to act in a certain situation. Example: "The next time he teases me about my age is when I'll ask how his toupee is holding up."
bchandler said:
I agree, how it's used and the tone. I see it like “See if I care.†Example: I'm going on vacation to Hawaii! Well, more power to ya, I'll be working and cleaning house. Mildly sarcastic for sure. But is there a definition we can stand by?
I think it's like "Good Luck" - it can be used genuinely, or sarcastically. But "you have my support and/or admiration" seems to be the definition ignoring the tone issue.
How interesting. I've always used it more like the way Glenn suggests. For example, if I were to see Don Quixote tilting at a windmill, or trying to accomplish some other daunting but noble task, I'd use that expression then. (Although I suppose it would behoove me to figure out how to say "more power to ya" in early-17th-century Spanish first.)
Martha Barnette
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