good people en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(plural, plural-only) Synonym of good folk (“magical humanoid creatures”).
When, for example, the peasant sees a cloud of dust sweeping along the road, he raises his hat and says, "God speed you, gentlemen!" for it is the popular belief that it is in these cloudy vehicles that the Good People journey from one place to another.
1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 364:But when she desired an old riven oak to be cut down an oak in which the good people (fairies) loved to assemble — because it impeded some favourite view, the poor old woman almost went mad, […]
1856, The Train, volumes 1-2, page 168:
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(qualifier:also African-American Vernacular, slang, uncountable) A good person.
2021 Anne Boonchuy in Amphibia "If You Give a Frog a Cookie" Thanks, Terri. You're good people.
"Oh no, I don't mean him," said Bert, "he's good people. He's on our side, not the system's."
1993, David Wagner, Checkerboard Square: Culture and Resistance in a Homeless Community, →ISBN, page 143: