The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:

And you really couldn't have picked a worse word to back up your
position....'nice' has evolved in meaning a great many times, and
still has many regional variations. Were you to adhere to the
principle you seem to keen to uphold then you just said 'his reply was
foolish'.

Nice going. How's your arse?

That's a comparatively modern usage - in fact, 'nice' in its firs
recorded form is far closer to the context in which it's used these
days.

How's yours?

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/