I wonder how the whole "good morning/afternoon/evening" greeting thing got started. What exactly are we trying to say? A wish? (I hope you have a....) A statement? (It is a ....) A directive? (Have a ... or else.) What is a gramatically correct response, given there is no clarity as to the implied verb (or subject, for that matter)?
Worse yet is the "greeting" of "How are you?". This has been a pet peeve of mine since college days, because most people who ask this do not want the answer. You can tell because they say it as they're walking past you, and any respone other than "fine, thanks" takes too long for them to hear. (Nevermind the attempt at "fine, and you?".) If you ask this, are you really prepared to hear the answer?
