Grammarians, how did the praise 'Good on you' get started?

[chknltl]

I understand that here in America it is more appropriate to say "Good for you" instead of "Good on you". The phrase "Good for you" has two uses, one use is: something which is beneficial for you, (as in 'Veggies are good for you.'). The other use is one of praise, (as in 'Good for you, you got that problem solved!').

'Good on you' also has two uses: 'That hat looks good on you.' and 'Good on you for donating to the scouts.' This latter use of 'good on you' the one of praise, is not so often used. I'd like to know the background for this particular usage.

The first time I became aware of this usage was through Thom Hartmann. He uses this 'good on you' as a form of praise almost daily on his radio program. Is it possible that this usage of 'good on you' began with him or did it originate much earlier perhaps from some early period in America's or England's history?

[Tom Kitten]

1. sounds Australian

as in "good on ya Mate"

That would be a good question to ask Thom himself! I'm sure he could expound...

[chknltl]

5. Now that you mention it,

it does indeed sound Australian. I thought it might be enlightening to check in here first but it might also be a good idea to post this query over at Thom's forum too.

[Tom Kitten]

7. did Mel Gibson say it in any of his movies?

Gotta admit he was pretty popular ...a possible entrance to the American vernacular?

[chknltl]

11. Couldn't tell you. I'm not too big a fan of Mel Gibson

I've nothing against him either but I'd be hard pressed to name any of his movies other than Mad Max.

[Tom Kitten]

12. I'm not saying either you or I are big fans of Mel Gibson

I thought you wanted to know origins of the phrase so I just presented a possibility...

[chknltl]

13. It joins the ranks then.

Wiki says that Mel is an Australian American actor. I didn't know this, and here is another possible Aussie connection! You may be on to something. (I have no opinion on Mel Gibson and meant no slight by my post btw, I hope I didn't come off like I was being snarky regarding Mel or those who like him and I am indeed curious as to where the 'good on you' phrase originates) :pals:

[CBHagman]

17. I always heard "Good on you" was Australian...

...and that Mel was born in Peekskill, NY, but brought up in Australia.

[chknltl]

19. Yep, starting to favor the Aussie origin too now.

Mel doesn't seem to have any accent, but then neither did Xena Princess Warrior. (Boy was I floored the first time I heard Lucy Lawless in an interview!)

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

21. Gods, I love that picture.

I can't decide what is more charming and effective, Obama's rather bittersweet expression, the delighted kid's expression, or the dad's utterly stoked expression.

[chknltl]

28. I am fully enraptured with it too!

I am normally snarky by nature, I have a horde of Chicken Little pics that would be more appropriate for me to be using there but..... I just can not bring myself to replace this photo! Sometimes, when I am about to post something particularly distasteful-(read sexist and/or tasteless), I find myself unable to post it BECAUSE of this photo!-(well mostly at any rate)

[Vini_Vidivici]

29. HEY chknltl!

What's up brother!

I use the phrase "good on ya" from time to time, for what it's worth. And yes, I am in fact educated.

[DeepBlueC]

2. My New Zealand friend says "good on you"

meaning "good for you". I kind of assumed it was a British thing.

[chknltl]

6. It does sound Australian/New Zealand(ish) to me now...

...which only expands on the possibilities. For some reason I figured it was something Thom Hartmann had made up. Recently I saw a new DUer use the expression and I almost complimented him on his good taste in who to emulate off the radio-(hence my investigation into this).
(edited to add New Zealand(ish))

[Haole Girl]

3. Probably by the same idiot who started "My bad"

:puke:

[chknltl]

8. I got this from a quick search

From: Urban Dictionary, item #5 under 'My Bad'
"A term currently used when a mistake is made on your part. Allegedly originating from an unamed African Basketball Player in the 1980's (who spoke very poor english)who said it after missing a free throw. Several Sportscasters heard the phrase and used it as a joke until it became a part of popular culture." (sic)


I've never really been bothered by the term, nor did I use it very often back when it was popular but if this is how it got started, I'll be less fond of it's use from now on.

[Tom Kitten]

9. I read your sig line

up to now I pronounced your name as halo girl! My bad... :evilgrin:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

4. I've heard it from Aussies and Kiwis.

Brits not so much.

[chknltl]

10. I have only heard Thom Hartmann use it but....

...it does indeed sound like something an Aussie would say. I knew that Thom spent some time in the UK and figured he might have picked it up there or made it up himself. Now I'm leaning to an Australian origination for this usage.

[no name no slogan]

14. It's an Australasian thing

The Aussies and Kiwis I knew when I lived in the UK would use it once in awhile, but I never heard a Brit use it, unless they were purposefully immitating an Aussie.

Same goes for the phrase "G'Day". It's a very Australian/NZ thing to say.

[chknltl]

16. Well that settles it! Common consensus here has it...

...originating from the Australian area. The more I think about it the more this feels right anyway.
It's a good phrase, one which does not sound funny when used without the Aussie accent. (I'd sound funny for instance saying "G'Day Mate" without the accent-OK I'd sound silly saying that anyway but I can say 'Good on you' just fine without a pretend accent. The fact that Thom Hartmann has no accent and he uses this phrase so often is what made me think it had an American or early English origin, one which had perhaps fallen out of use but was being resurrected by Thom.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

20. Spent a few weeks in NZ a few years ago

The inevitable and unvarying greeting was "G'day!" (universal) or "G'day, mate!" (much more common male to male) If you're there for a few days or more, you respond exactly the same way, and unintentionally mimic what is to Americans, the distinctively Kiwi ("yis" not "yes") accent (softer than the Aussie twang) w/o thinking about it. They seem to expect it. Man. I love New Zealanders and their attitude: "Don't worry, mate, it'll get done. Plenty of time for a pint and a bite."

[rcrush]

15. I first heard it in World of Warcraft. I played on an Aussie server.

And everyone in my guild was Aussie. So it was all Mate and Crikey and Good on Ya all day long.

[chknltl]

18. I'm down with the Aussie origin now for 'Good On You'.....

.... instead of asking you what 'Crikey' meant I went and looked it up. Sure, I recall Steve Irwin and how it seemed he used Crikey in just about every other paragraph but I never truly knew what the word meant. I found this amusing explanation for the meaning of Crikey in the Urban Dictionary:
"Crikey:
Polite Australian abbreviation for "Jesus, seriously, you gotta be fucking SHITTING me."

[Jamastiene]

22. Interesting trivia about that phrase from UrbanDictionary.com

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=good%20on%20ya
(Look at definition #3)

Apparently, it was used on the Andy Griffith Show? :wow:

[no name no slogan]

25. That makes me wonder if it's not Irish or Scottish in origin

There were a lot of Irish and Scottish settlers in Andy's part of North Carolina, and a good percentage of Australia was settled by Irish (and to a lesser extent, Scots). Also, the phrase sounds almost like a direct translation from another language (possibly Irish Celtic or Scottish Celtic?), as it doesn't make much literal sense in English. Makes you wonder...

[sarge43]

23. I read/heard it from Molly Ivins. n/t

[6000eliot]

24. It's Irish, and it's very old.

Probably predates grammar books and dictionaries.

[chknltl]

27. Wow, I had a hunch this might be the case

Because I had heard Thom Hartmann use it so often, I no longer heard it in my mind as Aussie. It was in this thread that I was reminded that I had heard it often enough prior to Hartmann with an Aussie accent.

When I posted this OP, I figured the expression to be either Old English, Irish or at best early American in origin.

Well that settles it, I'm gonna have to go post this question over in the Thom Hartmann forum because now, due to the responses here, my curiosity has increased. I suspect one of Thom's fans or even Thom himself will be able to satisfy my curiosity.

[yellowdogintexas]

26. first time I ever saw 'Good On You' as praise was in a Molly Ivins column.

She used it regularly.

[Xipe Totec]

30. You put good on you, like you put food on your family n/t

[RevolutionaryActs]

31. I always thought it was Australian?

And I thought that stemmed from when people would say "good of you."

:shrug: