"guy''

[Marc Sacks]

> HDAS:
>
>   1927 Eugene O'Neill, in _Sel. Letters_ 363: She is a "real guy."  You'd
> like her immensely.
>
>   1929 Asch _Pay Day_ 14: Be a good guy, Ma, and wait a couple of days.
>
>   1934 Duff & Sauber _20 Million Sweethearts_ (film): She'll understand.
> She's a great guy.
>
>   Etc., etc.

It sounds as if these examples use "guy" as equivalent to the German
"Mensch," i.e., a good human being (cf. Brecht's "Die gute Mensch von
Setzuan," which refers to a woman, though in German the gender of the
article gives it away).

Marc Sacks
msacks at theworld.com

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