Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kerstin]

1.You are good to go= You can leave now?

2.He is *rough around the edges*.
What does that mean?

3They get along *famously*=
get along well?

[CP]

All three are common expressions.

1. "Good to go" is a fairly recent expression meaning all ready / all set / prepared. Can be used in any context, but it is rather casual, so you wouldn't use it in an important or serious paper.

2. "Rough around the edges" means unrefined, uncouth, even unmannered.

3. When two people "get along famously," they get along well, as you said. They hit it off and became instant friends, good friends.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[estuban]

A note on the expression of 'good to go'. While certainly anybody speaking English can use this expression, if one wants to look where it came from look to the military. I am certainly not an expert, but many movies use this expression in military settings, as an affirmative for an order or before a mission is carried out. I asked a friend that was in the Airguard and he said this is common. So what am I saying. It is an expression that is proper but one does not hear it much among civilian speakers. Maybe you can begin to start a trend!

[CP]

Yes, I believe it did originate in the military, but like a lot of expressions that begin in relatively isolated places -- prisons, schools, even neighborhoods -- this one has begun to spread. We shall see whether anyone uses it in 10 years -- that is, we'll see whether it has legs -- or not.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb