a good deal
81
2.4
- idiom
:
mucho
- You purport to know a good deal about my son.
- spend a good deal
- a good deal more
- a good deal less
Examples
-
It's all too easy to complain; it's sometimes a good deal harder to suggest something better.
Academic text (1990) -
I seem to have missed a good deal.
-
And the Lord said, no, my dear man, you write a good deal faster than I can read.
-
Take, for example, the city of Chicago, where I conducted a good deal of my earlier research.
-
Twitter, this is the last part, is where I spend a good deal of my life.
-
Down the road, if you want to buy it, I'll make you a good deal.
-
Well, you seem to have accomplished quite a good deal since I saw you last.
-
And I've spent a good deal of time in the years since then.
-
You can see that such rules prevent a good deal of confusion, as well as animosity.
Fiction book (1993) -
She enjoyed the concert a good deal, feeling the music deeply.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To a very great degree
∞
1.0
Almost completely but not exactly the same
354
1.8
Shows that something is done a lot
350
1.0
By a very large amount
235
2.8
A fairly large amount
144
3.4
By a large amount
129
3.1
To a very large degree
129
4.9
To a large degree
128
3.5
To a very large degree
70
3.5
To a very large degree
14
8.0
To a very great degree
11
3.5
To a large degree
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to a very great degree' is directly derivable from combining 'good' (considerable) with 'deal' (an amount), so the phrase transparently denotes a considerable extent or amount. This compositional pattern (e.g. 'a great deal', 'a lot') is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
A good deal may come from old markets where a deal meant an amount or a bargain, and getting a 'good deal' meant getting a lot for your money. So the phrase came to mean 'very much' or 'a large amount'.