The most important two-word phrase in British vocabulary, ‘thank you’ is being increasingly abandoned in favour of less formal expressions like cheers, fab or cool, according to a new poll.

The poll was conducted by the Food Network UK for Thank You Day over a spread of 2,000 people. The day falls on November 24.

One in 20 participants said that a formal ‘thank you’ was now not often needed in everyday conversation.

Although the average Briton will say ‘thank you’ nearly 5,000 times a year, one in three are more likely to throw in a ‘cheers’ or ‘ta’ where it’s needed, rather than risk sounding old fashioned.

The poll also found that one in 20 now say ‘nice one’ instead, while younger generations are more likely to offer a ‘cool’ than a thank you.

‘Merci’, ‘fab’ and even ‘gracias’ were also listed as common phrases to use, as was ‘much appreciated’.

“When it comes to saying ‘thank you’, people will always find the way that works best for them and it’s interesting to see what the act means to different people”, said Nick Thorogood, managing director of Food Network UK to the Daily Mail.

“The fact that over a quarter of us choose to say thank you through food highlights that taking the time and effort to say ‘thanks’ is still very important to us”, he added. (ANI)