good people

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:54 PM -0700 5/16/04, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>?Does the expression "s/he is good people" have wide currency? I would like
>to use it in some new contexts, but have heard it only in Alaska.
>
>Also, does the plural (they're good people) work with the same meaning? or
>is there another form that is used?
>
>Benjamin Barrett
>Baking the World a Better Place
>www.hiroki.us

I remember it from a few years (or a couple of decades) back, but
haven't heard it lately.  I see google has 692 hits for "he's good
people", 674 for "she's good people".  The problem with the plural is
of course that it's not restricted to being the plural of this
construction, which is why "they're good people" has 7890 hits,
virtually none of which evoke this usage or register.  The
symmetrical solution would be "they're (a) good person", but that
seems unlikely to fly...

Larry