Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 08:48:29 -0600

From: Bonnie Briggs BBRIGGS[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ADMIN2.MEMPHIS.EDU

Subject: Re: "it's all good"



I've heard this expression all of my life. It was common to here someone say

something like "You were wrong from the git-go." It was usually used to mean

"from the beginning". It is probably more a product of Southern

English than what people refer to as Ebonics.





Bonnie Briggs

The University of Memphis







To be true to its African-American/"Ebonics" pronunciation, the phrase is

git-go. Mainstream speakers have tried to "standardize" or correct it by

pronouncing it "get-go."



On Tue, 4 Nov 1997, Emerson, Jessie J wrote:



Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 09:12:55 -0600

From: Emerson, Jessie J jjemerso[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]INGR.COM

To: ADS-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU

Subject: Re: "it's all good"



The phrase "from the git-go" (get-go?) has been around far longer than

hip-hop or rap, if that was the implication from Margaret's message.

The phrase means "from the beginning" and has been used in the South for

a number of years. I don't know about the origins, and it certainly

could've originated from the African American community here decades

ago.



Jessie Emerson



Margaret Lee wrote:

As with much slang that eventually enters mainstream usage, "It's all

good" originated in the African American community about four years

ago,

essentially a product of hip-hop/rap culture. That and "my bad,"

"dis," hood," "git-go," "squat," and many other expressions underscore

the

long rich tradition of the linguistic creativity of African Americans.