Good Enough Who It’s For

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Jacob Schroer. I’m calling from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Well, Jacob, welcome. What can we do for you today?

Yeah, so I have a phrase that’s been passed down through a few generations in my family that I wanted to maybe know a little bit more about. And that phrase is, good enough for who it’s for.

Good enough for who it’s for. In what context would you hear this?

The context is usually kind of in a more comedic form when you’re doing a task for someone and you maybe don’t do it as well as you should and you kind of shrug and say, good enough for who it’s for. The origin of the story is, I think, more of the funny part. My great-grandfather, for a time, his profession was grave digging.

And so, as the story goes, one day they were working on a grave site, and they were having problems getting to the correct depth, and one of the supervisors looked down and said, good enough for who it’s for.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

That particular customer is not going to know.

Yeah, exactly.

So my great-grandfather was so amused by that saying, maybe taken aback at first, but he started using it himself in different circumstances, mostly as a joke. And now, multiple generations down, that phrase is still being used in my family.

That’s super interesting.

Yeah, it’s got some life outside of your family, good enough for who it’s for.

And so the idea that I’m hearing from you is that it’s not perfect, but it’ll do?

Exactly.

And when I look at it being used elsewhere, I see often there’s a notion of being less perfectionist for oneself or one’s family than you might be for outsiders or for others.

So you might do something around the house. That’s good enough for me. You know, good enough for who it’s for, which is me.

Yes.

And that’s actually how my father uses it the most is when he’s working for himself and wants to be done with the project and doesn’t want to continue on. He might use that phrase.

But is there a notion partly here of pearls before swine, meaning why do it any better when nobody of any taste or sophistication really noticed the fine work that I’ve done?

Yeah, I think that is also an applicable use.

Okay, but in your family, you would use it that way?

Yes.

There’s at least 100 years to this. I find one construction company that uses it as a slogan, which I don’t think is well advised. Come, let us do some half-assed work on your house.

No, thank you.

Pretty good biscuits.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to utilize their services.

Good enough for who it’s for.

Not bad.

Not bad.

The other expression they use in construction, by the way, that’s similar is, looks good for my house. And it reminds me of the good enough for government work, if you know that expression.

Oh.

Where would that trace its history back to?

Well, good enough for government comes from the idea that the government has all these ridiculous specifications about how work should be done. But in the end, people often just do slapdash work anyway.

In Italian, though, slapdash work, get this, is called fatto con i piedi, which means made with the feet. So slapdash work looks like it wasn’t done with the hands at all.

Well, I’m also thinking about that expression, it’ll never be seen on a galloping horse.

Oh, yeah.

We get questions about that one all the time. You know, if you’re going by, galloping by, you’re not going to see it.

So, Jacob, thank you for sharing the family anecdote. And just know there’s about 100 years of history, and it doesn’t have a lot of life to it, but the expression is used here and there in English and has been for a century.

It sounds like it takes different variations wherever you’re at.

Yeah, of course.

All right, thanks for listening and thanks for calling, Jacob.

Thank you so much. Have a great one.

Take care. Bye-bye.

Well, if you have a question about language, we’ll give you an answer that’s good enough for who it’s for you. So call us, 877-929-9673, or you can ask us an email, words@waywordradio.org.