Subj : Good for you!
To   : Dan Cross
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Mon Feb 03 2020 23:14:15

Hi & welcome, Dan!  Recently you wrote in a message to Alexander Koryagin:

 AK>  Another strange expression in English. In Russia we see it
 AK>  like "It is the best such people like you can do! (and very
 AK>  possibly there are a lot of people who can do better)."

 DC>  That's an unfortunate interpretation.


           Agreed.  I might use it to mean "well done", but in such situations 
I'm reacting favourably to a person's efforts... not judging a talent contest.



 DC>  I think most people would say to mean something like, "I see
 DC>  and am pleased that something good has happened to you" or
 DC>  perhaps "I am happy that something good has happened to you."


           Yes, I've heard it used in such a manner.



 AK>  But in reality you probably mean "You are a smart guy!"?

 DC>  I don't think it's usually a statement of intelligence;


           I certainly don't take it that way, if intelligence is perceived as 
the ability to get good marks on standardized tests.  As a teacher I recognize 
that there are many different types of intelligence.  And I appreciate that in 
the E_T echo there are many intelligent readers who can explain various issues 
in various ways, so I needn't be the Fount of All Knowledge & Wisdom.  I can't 
see the baffled looks on people's faces from where I sit.  But I'd give a gold 
star for Emotional Intelligence to the young man who, in a tale I've recounted 
here before, said "Grow up, Dude... there's an accident!" to another fellow of 
+/- the same age who evidently believed the world revolves around him.  If I'd 
shared my thoughts with the latter, he probably couldn't have cared less.  :-Q



 DC>  it's rather more general than that.  It's often used as
 DC>  an expression where you might say, "that is good" or
 DC>  "that is great".


           My CANADIAN OXFORD says it is an "exclamation of approval towards a 
person"... and IMHO it could include something a person has said or done which 
seems exactly right under the circumstances.  If their behaviour is out of the 
ordinary &/or requires a bit of risk-taking, that adds some weight AFAIC.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

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