Slang dictionary
good yard
[good yahrd]
What does good yard mean?
If you’re writing an email after a few too many drinks, you might find yourself signing off good yard instead of the typical “good night.” If you’re sober, a good yard is just a nice bit of green space by your house or a way to refer to a distance of about a yard.
Good yard became a humorous way to say “good night” thanks to a viral 2015 email from a high-school student to a teacher signing off with good yard.
Where does good yard come from?
Most students take school seriously. They study hard, turn their work in on time, and never slack off. Others take an alternative approach, shall we say.
That’s the case, apparently, with a high school student said to have written an email in 2015 to his teacher praising him and asking for an extension. A mixture of autocorrect and inebriation seems to have turned his sign-off into “good fuckn yard.”
AntOBrien / Imgur
His teacher was very good-humored about the email and wrote a hilarious (and generous) email back, also signing off good yard as a joke.
AntOBrien / Imgur
The email exchange was first shared to the now-defunct Orange County High School Confessions Twitter account (@ConfessionOCHS). It was captioned “when your students drunk email you.” The post went viral when it was shared on Imgur and Reddit in early August 2015.
The humorous, profanity-laden exchange prompted some folks at the time to adopt good yard ironically, whether drunk or just having fun.
good yard @alexstoller @ashhlaayy_ pic.twitter.com/ub67jeEimy
— bre ⓩ (@brebartolone) August 11, 2015
Examples of good yard
Who uses good yard?
Good yard had its viral moment in August and September 2015. Since then, the use of good yard in reference to this joke has dropped off. However, good yard surfaces now and again, especially as a bit of viral nostalgia.
Good yard. pic.twitter.com/pgT8aweTmr
— High Science Podcast (@highsciencecast) June 6, 2019
(We don’t recommend signing off your emails to your teachers or students good yard. If you do, we hope they’re as easygoing as this pair.)
Outside of the good yard meme, you will see good yard used for a nice front yard or back yard at someone’s house, e.g., a good yard for a dog or kids.
When @saraellenr and I got married, we compromised on only getting a dog once we had a house with a good yard. I was hopeful she would forget. She did not. #rosie pic.twitter.com/ZwE45PYD5r
— Dub (@DubRichey) June 3, 2019
A good yard can also refer to a yard as an approximate measure of distance, meaning that something is at least a yard long or a yard away. This may be used in the context of football.
Uncle Verne and Gary need their eyes checked, the Tennessee ball carrier was short by a good yard on that play
— Brad James (@BradfatherSpeak) October 5, 2013
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of good yard like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of good yard that will help our users expand their word mastery.