Buenas Afternoon

An observation I made the other day:

In Costa Rica, as in much of the Spanish speaking world, people abbreviate their salutations. We do the same in the States and Canada too, and much of the English speaking world.

Only here is an American abbreviating:

'Morning Bob!
'Afternoon, Sue!
'Evening, Billy Ray!

We leave out the "Good" and opt to simply offer up the time of day.

Here is a Tico (Costa Rican) abbreviating:

Buenas, Esteban!
Buenas, Marielos!
Buenas, Elisa!

They leave out the time of day (dias, tardes, noches) and simply say "Buenas" - or "good."

I'll leave you to sort out the meaning of this observation...