subs. phr. (colloquial).—Something worth having or backing; a bon mot; GOOD GOODS (q.v.). In racing a presumed CERT (q.v.).
1844. Puck, p. 63. Here’s to the GOOD THING whose neatness we prize.
1884. The Saturday Review, 2 Aug., p. 147, c. 2. The Goodwood Stakes was considered a GOOD THING for Florence, who has proved herself to be an extraordinary mare.
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. In a field of four, Livingstone, who was voted a GOOD THING, was served up a warm favourite.
1891. Daily Telegraph, 21 March. It had been generally anticipated that this was a GOOD THING for Oxford.
1892. Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday, 19 March, p. 90, c. 3.
| That them as trades in rags and bones | |
| Makes more than them as writes GOOD THINGS. |
