good people

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:17 PM -0400 5/17/04, Beverly Flanigan wrote:
>Familiar to me too, for all of my long long life--but only in the
>plural.  It's a bit elitist (suggesting good lineage), but it was never
>mysterious to me (Minnesota, 1940s on). I don't think I've ever heard it in
>the singular.

But in the singular, it's not elitist at all, but down home.  It
doesn't mean "comes from good lineage" but something more like what
"good folks" would mean if it could occur in the singular.

larry

>
>At 10:22 AM 5/17/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>>Very familiar to me and my family (Washington State via Montana); my
>>grandfather used it; he was born in 1906 in Nebraska, and his family moved
>>to Montana when he was 3.
>>
>>At 02:54 AM 5/17/04, you 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