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
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
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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courier-journal.com
Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:07:48 GMT+00:00
Squad' tick Louisville Courier-Journal " Goon Squad" takes the form of a cleverly self-referential set of stories that work as one-offs as well as components of a seamless whole. ... Time's a goon : Jennifer Egan sets the clock ticking on country's future Pittsburgh Post Gazette Proust and Punk: Jennifer Egan, 'A Visit from the Goon Squad,' at Politics and ... Express from The Washington Post (blog)
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