bally good
- adjective
- /ˈbæli ɡʊd/
- Archaic
:
estupendo
- He did a bally good job fixing the car, if you ask me.
Examples
-
That was a bally good meal!
-
That was a bally good suggestion, old chap!
-
Everyone agreed it was a bally good party last night.
-
This movie is bally good fun!
-
Everyone agreed it was a bally good party last night.
-
He did a bally good job fixing the car, if you ask me.
-
That was a bally good suggestion, old chap!
Synonyms
407
7.9
Used informally to mean completely or very much
134
3.0
Better than expected and quite good
77
7.5
Very good and impressive at a skill
66
7.3
Very good and enjoyable
11
7.9
In a good state without any problems
5
8.8
To say that something is very good or pleasant, often in a sarcastic way to mean the opposite
4
7.9
Very good and impressive
1
9.3
Very good and pleasing to people
1
9.9
Very good or excellent
1
9.0
Very good and impressive
Very good and enjoyable
Very good and enjoyable
Antonyms
How Good
Surface Forms
Morphology
Bally is an intensifying adjective, so when combined with 'good' the meaning is predictably 'very good' or 'excellent'. The intensifier + adjective composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so despite its colloquial British flavor the overall meaning is transparent to a learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Bally good comes from a softer form of the old rude word 'bloody' — people started using bally instead to be polite, so the extra word simply strengthens good. So, bally good is a mild way to say 'very good' or excellent.