I was using the phrase "suit yourself" quite often since the equivalent in my native language it is a legitimate way to express "do whatever you consider the best."
However, when I used this phrase in a dialogue with a person from UK, I was told that it is quite impolite. I goggled the phrase for clarification, but I did not succeed much.
There is an explanation at The free Dictionary which tells nothing about impoliteness at all. On the other hand, there is a discussion on ELU which implies it is impolite. There is also a link to the phrases.org which honestly confuses me.
Is the phrase "suit yourself" considered impolite, or is it sometimes impolite?
Has the phrase changed its tone recently (maybe due to the non-native speakers)?
Best Answer
Sure, it can come across as rude, especially when it's uttered bitterly, and it's meant to imply, "Do whatever you want - I don't care."
However, in a more casual context, it's not necessarily rude.
Even in that snippet, though, I do detect an undercurrent of "That's not the way I would do it, but, if you say so..." So, I suppose something more along the lines of:
could be considered safer. Still, I woudn't consider "Suit yourself" to be anywhere near as inconsiderate as something more vulgar, such as "I don't give a rat's ass."