Explain what GOOD means in the following sentences.

[BetterSense]

I feel, slightly, that the "a good mile" usage is either dialectical or slang. I'm not sure I would use it in formal writing.

[Yudan Taiteki]

The MW Dictionary of English Usage calls it an "entirely standard use" and quotes the NY Times Book Review section among other sources.

[BetterSense]

Just my opinion.

[two_heads_talking]

Just my opinion.

You really need to look at the last date posted.. you added nothing worthwhile to this thread and brought it back from a 6 month death.. Please re-read the rules.. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=138

[ss]

Bettersenseさん、こんにちは。

Most people here grew up bilingual from infancy, being English as our first language.
I guess it is one of the few good results being the British empire (once). People have always admired us who can speak several languages. However, I think there is shortcoming. From childhood, people mix around with Chinese, Indians, Malays, Eurasians etc., even though English is our first language, we are probably not speaking standard English like most Americans or British people do. I guess, a great various varieties of Malay, Chinese or even dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew (culture) have strong influence in the English we are using.

When I was in the Pandion chat, mostly, Americans couldn't understand what I was talking about. Come to think of it, English is the most difficult language to master. ^^; My English is just terrible, I really need to brush up on my English.

[BetterSense]

you added nothing worthwhile to this thread and brought it back from a 6 month death

I honestly felt that a usage warning was appropriate and noticed that nobody had said a thing about it. I continue to feel that the usage is less than rigidly formal. I cannot imagine myself saying in one of my research articles that "we increased the growth rate by a good 20 angstroms/s". I feel that it has an unprofessional feel to it, and others way wish to note that. However, it's true that this is just one man's opinion. I can see how you can feel that this adds nothing worthwhile since you don't agree with my advice in the first place.

[Dustin]

you added nothing worthwhile to this thread and brought it back from a 6 month death

I honestly felt that a usage warning was appropriate and noticed that nobody had said a thing about it. I continue to feel that the usage is less than rigidly formal. I cannot imagine myself saying in one of my research articles that "we increased the growth rate by a good 20 angstroms/s". I feel that it has an unprofessional feel to it, and others way wish to note that. However, it's true that this is just one man's opinion. I can see how you can feel that this adds nothing worthwhile since you don't agree with my advice in the first place.

I hear good used in this manner quite frequently. Yes you might not use it in a research article, but there are different levels of speech in English as well.

I studied for a GOOD 3 hours last night.
The store is a GOOD mile down the road
It does however give a nuance that it was a rather "full" hour or mile I think but is perfectly acceptable.

Good in these usages are also usually approximate anyways in nature, which is not appropriate typically in a research paper, so using that as a means of whether it is proper English usage or not does not make sense.

Just my 2 cents as well, hope that helps :p

[adriannrod]

Hehe, things like this remind what a mess English is. I never stopped to think about how variable the word can be...

Us native English speakers almost have it easy, just knowing what words are supposed to mean without needing translation.