"Good on you" and "Good on ya"... please help me.

[Dora]

Okay, I confess to living under a rock. Will somebody please explain this particular turn of phrase that's now popping up everywhere I turn? I first noticed it last fall, but its frequency has increased exponentially.

"Wha happened?"

[Dora]

1. Does nobody know why they say this?

Perhaps now this talking-like-a-character-out-of-King's-Dark-Tower-series will stop.

[arbusto_baboso]

2. It's an Aussie and Kiwi turn of phrase...

and it's just now starting to become popular here due to all the movie-tourism in New Zealand.

Hell, I was saying "Good on ya', Mate" ten years ago. But then, my wife is a Kiwi.

[henslee]

3. What's next...... Krike-eeee?

[pokerfan]

4. First heard it about fifteen years ago

I would run into Aussies when I used to run with the Hash House Harriers.

Now Cockney. There's a dialect no one understands:

"'Allo, me old china. Wot say we pop round the Jack. I'll stand you a pig and you can rabbit on about your teapots. We can 'ave some loop and tommy and be off before the dickory hits twelve."

??? :)

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. 'Top hole!'

"Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's-your-father! Harry blighter dickie-birdied, feathered back on his sammy, took a waspie, flipped over on his betty harpers and caught his can in the bertie!"

[pokerfan]

14. Cockney from the Band of Brothers miniseries

In the first episode, while training in England, Hoobler runs into a British soldier dressed as a German.

The following was posted on one of the BoB message boards. Thought it was interesting:

As a Brit, I can actually understand what he says... lol. I'll convert it to proper English after for you... Cockney rhyming slang.

The Cockney gift to world culture is the phenomenon of Cockney Rhyming Slang - a code of speaking wherein a common word can be replaced by the whole or abbreviated form of a well-known phrase which rhymes with that word.

Cockney Rhyming Slang has been evolving in the East End of London since the sixteenth century. It is thought to have originated from the seamen and soldiers who used the London docks, from the Gypsies who arrived in the 1500's, from the Irish residents and the Jewish faction and from all the other ethnic minorities which have made up the population of the city.

Hoobler: Holy shitt!
Brit: Nah it's alright mate, we're tommies not boche.
Hoobler: Is all this real?
Brit: Yeah, yeah. Well some of it's from the Germans something these toes knocked up. For you lads actually, so you can get your mince pies on some of this Jerry clobber, if you know what I mean?
Hoobler: Not really. Hey mate, you got a Luger? I'm dying to get my hands on a real Luger.
Brit: Yeah go on then, quick butchers yeah?
Hoobler: Boy she sure is a doozy.
Brit: Yeah it's pukka innit?
Hoobler: What?
Brit: Hey?
Hoobler (walking away): Hey Petty!
Brit: Here, mate! You're having a bath if you think you're half-inching that.
Hoobler: Oh yeah, sorry. Well good luck.
Brit: You too mate.


Certain Words
-----------
Boche (Bosh) - Used mainly together with a hand action such as a punch or painting a wall. eg "It won't take a second to do that son, just go bosh bosh bosh and Bob's yer uncle". Basically, a term that means something has been thrown together quickly or can be completed easily. The Brit is saying it was something that they had just thrown together. It's very difficult to try and put it into context actually, and to explain the meaning of it.
-----------
Mince Pies - Rhyming Slang for 'eyes'. Normally used in it's full form.
-----------
Clobber - Clothes, kit. eg. "I've gotta go shopping for some new clobber".
-----------
Butchers - Rhyming Slang, short for for 'butchers hook' meaning 'look'. A very common example of rhyming slang, usual examples are "give us a butchers" or "let's av a butchers".
-----------
Pukka - 'Authentic' or 'first-rate'. Originates from the Hindi word 'pakka' meaning 'substantial'. This word was originally used in the Indian colonies.
-----------
Having a bath - Rhyming slang, meaning 'having a laugh' or joking around. Terms like 'Youre having a bubble' are used today, which has came from the term 'having a bath'.
-----------
Half-inching - Rhyming slang for 'pinch' which means steal.
-----------

Hope this helps and I am quite sure this is right. I should start writing in rhyming slang and see how many of you understand me!

[TheBaldyMan]

15. Boche means 'a frightful Hun' old fruit

toodle-pip!

[pokerfan]

16. I thought that didn't make sense

The character clearly says, "it's alright mate, we're tommies not boche."

Does the rest of the translation (decyphering) look OK?

[TheBaldyMan]

17. 100% OK n/t

[Dora]

5. Ahhhh. Much better now. Thank you.

:applause:

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Really? I First Heard This. . .

. . .when i was a kid among a couple of black families we knew. One went to the same school as me and the other lived at the same address as me but one street west. I was at both of those houses quite a lot and used to hear the moms saying it. And, that was when i was 10 or 11 years old. (Back in the mid-60's)
The Professor

[arbusto_baboso]

7. But it's been an Aussie expression for far longer...

Possibly as far back as the 1880s. At least according to some Antipodean linguists I've talked to.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Yeah, But I Wouldn't Have Known That. I From America!

And, somehow i doubt the black families i knew were experts on Aussie lingo either. Could be, i suppose, someone in those families picked it up in WWII or something. Lots of black soldiers fought in WWII. So, could be!
The Professor

[arbusto_baboso]

11. Good theory!

I think you may be on to something, there!

I know my granddaddy brought back all sorts of English expressions from his time in the UK during the war, so i think you're probably right.

[LynzM]

8. I heard it living in Indiana, as well...

Weird how language gets passed around. I don't particularly like this phrase, but what are you gonna do, right?

[raccoon]

12. I must live under another rock. What does it mean? nt

[Aristus]

13. "Good for you".

That's all. Nothing more.

[Orsino]

19. With a connotation of...

..."best wishes for you."

[emmajane67]

18. In 'Kiwi' it can be echanged with...

"Nice one, bro"
or
"Cher, Bro"
or maybe even
"Ka Pai"