that good and bad boy

[joham]

That good and bad boy is his brother.

I read this sentence in a grammar book. The book says that the phrase 'good and' in this sentence means 'very'. Do native speakers use 'good and' to intensify words like 'bad' (which has a negative meaning)?

Thank you in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

That good and bad boy is his brother.

I read this sentence in a grammar book. The book says that the phrase 'good and' in this sentence means 'very'. Do native speakers use 'good and' to intensify words like 'bad' (which has a negative meaning)?

Thank you in advance.

We do, but using it before "bad" is likely to cause a lot of confusion! In your example I immediately thought that the boy was being described as both good and bad (ie well-behaved and badly behaved).

However, we do use it colloquially to mean "very".

Make sure the food is good and hot before you serve it.
Ensure the knot is good and tight before taking your finger away.

We don't use it before every adjective though. I don't think I would say, for example:

Draw the picture good and small.
Build the house good and large.

 

[JohnParis]

No, I have never heard this.
In certain circumstances (mostly highly informal slang) saying that something is "bad" actually means that it is "good."
In certain circles, for example, the phrase "that dude is bad" means "that guy is really good." This sort of inversion exists in several languages I am familiar with.

Edit: After reading emsr2d2's post I realized that I did not understand the question. Please excuse me.

 

[emsr2d2]

On the basis of JohnParis' reply, I think we've found another BrE vs AmE difference.

 

[BobSmith]

On the basis of JohnParis' reply, I think we've found another BrE vs AmE difference.

[not a teacher]

"good and ..." as "very" is common in AmE. I can imagine hearing this and not even notice - "Make sure the food is good and hot before you serve it."

That good and bad boy is his brother. I read this sentence in a grammar book. The book says that the phrase 'good and' in this sentence means 'very'.

I would throw this book out.