Yours aye

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on March 04, 2008 at 23:15:

In Reply to: Yours aye posted by Smokey Stover on March 04, 2008 at 21:22:

: : I am curious to know what does the phrase 'Yours aye' at the end of a letter really mean. I know 'aye' means yes but to say 'Yours aye' in place of 'Yours sincerely' or 'Yours faithfully' does not quite make sense. Please note English is not my mother tongue

:
: One meaning of "aye" is forever, sometimes used in "for aye and aye." I hever heard it (or read it) as the "complimentary close" of a letter. I would have expected it to be rendered "Yours for aye," if at all.
: SS

It is an established (if toe-curlingly corny) traditional close for a letter in Britain. During the Thatcher years "Private Eye", the London satirical magazine, had as a regular feature spoof letters to a friend from Mrs Thatcher's husband Dennis, which always closed "Yours aye, Dennis" (VSD)