Learn English – The expression “your right” when used to respond to an apology

australian-englishexpressionsidiom-request

Here in Australia, people say something like 'you're right' or 'your right' or 'you right', sometimes followed by 'mate' to respond to an apology.

Below is an example circumstance:

  • Ouch!
  • Oops, sorry I stepped on your foot.
  • Your right mate

I tried doing some research, but couldn't find any examples.
What does it actually mean?

Many thanks.

Best Answer

I suspect this is related to the Australian expression "She'll be right", which means that whatever is wrong now will be right (or all right) in time.

The expression "She's right" means that the wrong is already right.

So perhaps the expression "You're right" means that the wrong done to you is already right -- or is not considered to be a wrong in the first place. This fits in well with the example given.

The word "mate" is a common -- usually male -- bonding word in Australia, making the apology more a peer-to-peer transaction, and more likely to be accepted.

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