That's a good question.

[Jonathan Lighter]

Sometimes, when I was teaching, I would fall into the following trap:

SET-UP: Dr. Lighter, Sir, why exactly do critics regard Shakespeare as a
better writer than someone like Jim Davis, famed author of _Garfield Gains
Weight_?

ME: That's a good question. Cultural...

CLASS: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Professionals on TV avoid the trap by saying, "That's a great question,
Wolf/ Katie/ Bill/ Megan/ Kyra...!"

"That's a good question" has come to mean, "I haven't the faintest idea,"
while "That's a great question" means, "You're highly perspicuous, and I'm
smart enough to know the answer."

So a "good question" is more of a challenge, _de facto_, than a "great
question."

JL
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org