smile in greeting/in thanks

[Englishlanguage]

Can we say to smile in greeting to mean that someone smiles at somebody to say hello?
And what about to smile in thanks? Can it be used to mean that someones smiles at somebody to thank him?

 

[susiedqq]

Usually, people smile when greeting each other.

When someone says thanks, they also usually smile.

"thanks with a smile"

"Greet with a smile"

He thanked me with a smile when I gave him the present.

The nurse greeted us with a smile.

 

[Englishlanguage]

Thank you for your reply.
Can't the expression "in greeting" and "in thanks" be used in other contexts?
By the way, I've found many webpages wherein the expression smile in greeting is used. Here are some of them.

1)B’Elanna stepped onto the bridge and looked over at Harry’s station. He
faced her and smiled in greeting. She smiled back.
2)The eternally feuding Fascist greengrocer and Communist housepainter across the road, who had previously agreed only on the point that my hair was too long, smiled in greeting and sat down to the table for an animated game of scopa.
3)“Hey.” Remus Lupin sat down on another armchair near hers and smiled in greeting. When he smiled, Effie's heart skipped a beat, and she just smiled back
4)Well, on this particular morning, as I made my way up from the beach, there was a woman (whom I recognized from seeing often at the beach) holding a plastic bag of ripe golden apples in a liquid that looked just like plain water. She smiled in greeting and offered me a golden apple from the bag

And here are some where smile in thanks is used:
1)She looked over her shoulder and smiled in thanks.
2)“You’re going to do fine. You did well with James and your going to do well again.” he bent down and gave her a very soft kiss on the forehead. She smiled in thanks and grasped his hand tighter
3) Hayden stood up and said,” Actually I’ll pay for his things and my things together.” Ron smiled in thanks, while the old woman handed Ron the treats, as Hayden paid for the treats and sat back down in their cabin.

Is it improper usage? Or might it be a US/UK English difference?

 

[Englishlanguage]

Anybody there??

 

[Horsa]

Can we say to smile in greeting to mean that someone smiles at somebody to say hello? Yes. It is sometimes used to mean that one person acknowledges the prescence of another person when they are unable to greet that person with words - perhaps because they are currently engaged in conversation with an important person.
And what about to smile in thanks? Can it be used to mean that someones smiles at somebody to thank him? Yes again.

The usage is fine in British English as I'm sure you know since at least some of your sources were written by British writers.

 

[Englishlanguage]

Can we say to smile in greeting to mean that someone smiles at somebody to say hello? Yes. It is sometimes used to mean that one person acknowledges the prescence of another person when they are unable to greet that person with words - perhaps because they are currently engaged in conversation with an important person.
And what about to smile in thanks? Can it be used to mean that someones smiles at somebody to thank him? Yes again.

The usage is fine in British English as I'm sure you know since at least some of your sources were written by British writers.

Thank you Horsa.
As for the sentences, I just reported a few sentences I found on the web. I didn't even notice they were written by British writers. I know it's not very orthodox but when I'm in doubt about the usage of a word or expression, I google it and see how many results there are. Of course, I'm aware that in some cases a word or expression may be used in a wrong or non-standard way but it's just to have an idea.

 

[Horsa]

I don't think it's unorthodox to google something you are not sure of - I do it myself. You do have to look at the results with a little care though as it's easy to get the wrong sense of an expression.

 

[Englishlanguage]

I don't think it's unorthodox to google something you are not sure of - I do it myself. You do have to look at the results with a little care though as it's easy to get the wrong sense of an expression.

 

[susiedqq]

The usage is fine in the US, also.

using "in" is common way to expand the verb meaning:


She cried in pain when she saw the damage to her house.

She cringed in angst when they asked her to sing.