Meaning & use
merry crimbo
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Meaning
phrasefixed phraseinformalBritish
An informal British way of wishing someone a happy Christmas.
Grammar: Used on its own as a greeting or added after a name: Merry Crimbo, Tom!
Patterns
- Merry Crimbo!
- Merry Crimbo to someone
Merry Crimbo, everyone — see you in the new year!
She sent me a card that just said 'Merry Crimbo' inside.
Merry Crimbo to you and your family!
Common combinations
- Merry Crimbo!
- Merry Crimbo! Have a great day tomorrow.
- say Merry Crimbo
- He rang up just to say Merry Crimbo.
- a Merry Crimbo card
- I bought a pack of funny Merry Crimbo cards.
- wish someone a Merry Crimbo
- We popped round to wish her a Merry Crimbo.
- Merry Crimbo to someone
- Merry Crimbo to all the staff at the shop!
Synonyms and how they differ
- Merry Christmas
- The standard, neutral form; use this in formal writing or with people you do not know well.
- Happy Christmas
- Also standard in British English and slightly warmer in tone, but not slangy like merry crimbo.
- season's greetings
- A neutral, non-religious phrase often used in business cards and emails.
Word family
- Crimbo noun
- Informal British word for Christmas itself.
- merry adjective
- Happy and cheerful, used in greetings such as merry Christmas.
Commonly confused: merry crimbo or Crimbo?
merry crimbo vs Crimbo
Crimbo is the noun for the holiday; merry crimbo is the whole greeting, so you say 'Merry Crimbo', not 'Happy Crimbo' in this slang form.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'merry crimbo' in the most natural way?
Choose one answer.
'Merry crimbo' works as a fixed greeting on its own, so option 1 fits. The others try to use it as a verb or adjective, which it never is.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “merry crimbo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.