It’s time for another idiom. This week I’ve decided to write about the expression: to be in someone’s “good books”. We use it when we want to say that a person is in someone else’s favor at the moment because they did something good. The other person is usually someone of higher status. For example:
I’m in my manager’s good books right now because I agreed to work this weekend.
My sister is in our parents’ good books because she did really well on her final exams. They’re really proud of her.
I was a little late for my meeting with my boss. I hope I’m still in his good books.
We can also use this expression in the negative. For example:
I’m not in my teacher’s good books right now because I didn’t do my homework.
My brother is never in our parents’ good books. He’s always getting into trouble.
It’s also possible to use this expression with the word “bad”. For example:
I’m in my manager’s bad books right now because I made a big mistake at the office, and our client is really angry.
My father is in my mother’s bad books now because he forgot her birthday!
When we use “bad books”, it sounds much stronger than “not in someone’s good books”. So being in someone’s “bad books” indicates the higher level person is angry.
English Help Online's Blog 