Used to express the hope that something will work out well for someone, often with the implication that, while hoping for the best, the speaker does not expect much.
1843, Charles Dickens,The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit:
“Mr. Chufiey is a lyin' down,” said Mrs. Gamp, returning, " andmuch good may it do him, Mr. Chuzzlewit, which harm it can't and good it may, be joyful!"
Your husband may keep his twenty thousand pounds, andmuch good may it do him!
1884, Sarah Tytler, “Beauty and the Beast: A Modern Romance”, inGood Words, volume25, page832:
Take your own way, andmuch good may it do you. But remember, if you are not back before the next train, I shall start with Soames, and my dutiful grand-children may find their way back to me as they can.
2015, Edgar Watson Howe,The Story of a Country Town:
The pin-headed woman who regards her thin-witted husband as the greatest man in the world, is happy, andmuch good may it do her.
2022, Joan Aiken, Jane Austen,Emma Watson: Jane Austen's Unfinished Novel Completed by Joan Aiken, page832:
'Andmuch good may it do me,' returned Emma with a sigh, 'since she, or rather her new husband, has cast me off.'
