Contents
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -uːn
Etymology 1
Shortened from gooney, from obsolete gony ("simpleton", c.1580), of unknown origin. Gony was applied by sailors to the albatross and similar big, clumsy birds (c.1839). Goon first carried the meaning "stupid person" (c.1921).
- The meaning of "hired thug" (c.1938) is largely influenced by the comic strip character Alice the Goon from the Popeye series.
- The "fool" sense was reinforced by the popular radio program, The Goon Show, starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers.
Noun
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Singular goon |
Plural goons |
goon (plural goons)
- A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence (also known as a 'hired goon').
- A fool; someone considered silly, stupid, awkward, or outlandish.
- (ice hockey, pejorative) An enforcer or fighter.
Derived terms
See also
Translations
A thug
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Etymology 2
Diminutive slang for flagon
Noun
|
Singular goon |
Plural uncountable |
goon (uncountable)
- (Australian, uncountable, informal) Cheap or inferior cask wine.
Synonyms
Anagrams
Japanese
Noun
goon (ごおん)
Romanization of:
- 呉音: one category of on'yomi (音読み, おんよみ), the Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of a kanji character.
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The Daily Star
Another lawmaker: Sarah Kabori, who joined the event halfway through, spoke of the country's independence day and recited a poem by Nirmalendu Goon . ...
