Word.ws English Dictionary

job's a good 'un

UK/ˌdʒɒbz ə ˈɡʊd(ə)n/

job's a good 'un phrase: expresses satisfaction that a task has been or will be carried out successfully, often suggesting that the task is simple, or ironically implying that it has been completed in a cursory or slapdash manner.

Phrase

job's a good 'un

  1. (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, colloquial) Expresses satisfaction that a task has been or will be carried out successfully, often suggesting that the task is simple, or ironically implying that it has been completed in a cursory or slapdash manner.
    • We've cracked it Ginge! Showed out for a cock and hen and drew for a flag. There’s one born every minute. Let this one go for now and the job’s a good un. Hello, there’s a jam role there. And diamonds is a roles best friend. They love em! See me cop off this.1968, Robert Roberts, Imprisoned Tongues, Manchester University Press, page 210
    • ‘The job’s a good ’un. Ahm getting a word put in and it’ll all be fixed up.’1975 August, Michael Foley, “The Wrassler: A Bit of Strange”, in Fortnight, number 109, →JSTOR, page 14

Synonyms of job's a good 'un

Forms of job's a good 'un

alternative formjob's a good'un
alternative formjob's a goodun
alternative formthe job's a good 'un

Origin of job's a good 'un

Attested in 1968, but probably popularised by footballer Robbie Fowler who, after scoring four goals in a Premier League match against Middlesbrough on 14 December 1996, revealed a T-shirt with the phrase written on it in marker pen. He explained to the press that it was Happy Mondays percussionist Bez's catchphrase in his segment "Science with Bez" on BBC Two's The Sunday Show (1995–97).

Questions about job's a good 'un

What does job's a good 'un mean?
Job's a good 'un means expresses satisfaction that a task has been or will be carried out successfully, often suggesting that the task is simple, or ironically implying that it has been completed in a cursory or slapdash manner.
What part of speech is job's a good 'un?
Job's a good 'un is a phrase.
How do you pronounce job's a good 'un?
Job's a good 'un is pronounced /ˌdʒɒbz ə ˈɡʊd(ə)n/ (UK).

Words near job's a good 'un in the dictionary

  1. job splitting
  2. job stopper
  3. job stoppers
  4. job title
  5. job titles
  6. job's a good 'un
  7. job's a good'un
  8. job's a goodun
  9. Job's Coffin
  10. Job's comfort
  11. Job's comforter

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: job's a good 'un (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “job's a good 'un.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/job%27s_a_good_%27un. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.