Dictionary Definition
goon
Noun
2 an aggressive and violent young criminal [syn:
hood, hoodlum, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
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.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -uːn
Noun
- 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
- Finnish: korsto
A fool
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.
Extensive Definition
A goon is a stupid person or a hired thug.
Goon may also refer to:
- The Goon, a comic book series created by Eric Powell
- Barney Irwin, a professional wrestler briefly known as "The Goon"
- Alice the Goon, a character in the Popeye comic strip
- PC Goon, a character in Enid Blyton's "The Five Find-Outers" series of children's books
- A performer in The Goon Show
- Goon (album), a 1996 release by Global Goon
A goon may also be:
- A synonym for a hockey enforcer
- An Australian slang term for box wine
- An unskilled surfer
- A member of the SomethingAwful internet forums
See also
- Go-on, a possible way of reading certain Japanese Kanji
- Gune, a gnome-like character from the film Titan A.E.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Mafioso, Young Turk, adherent, battler, beast, beldam, belligerent, belted knight,
berserk, berserker, bickerer, blade, bomber, bravo, brawler, bruiser, brute, bully, bullyboy, combatant, competitor, contender, contestant, creature, demon, devil, disciple, disputant, dragon, duelist, dummy, enforcer, fencer, feuder, fiend, fighter, fighting cock, figurehead, fire-eater,
firebrand, flunky, flying squadron, foilsman, follower, fury, gamecock, gillie, gladiator, goon squad,
gorilla, gun, gunsel, hanger-on, hardnose, hatchet man,
hell-raiser, hellcat,
hellhound, hellion, henchman, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, hothead, hotspur, incendiary, jackal, jouster, killer, knight, lackey, mad dog, madcap, man, militant, minion, monster, mug, mugger, muscle man, myrmidon, picket, plug-ugly, puppet, quarreler, rapist, revolutionary, rioter, rival, rodman, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, sabreur, satellite, savage, scrapper, scuffler, she-wolf, spitfire, squabbler, stooge, strong arm, strong-arm
man, strong-armer, struggler, swashbuckler, sword, swordplayer, swordsman, sycophant, termagant, terror, terrorist, thug, tiger, tigress, tilter, torpedo, tough, tough guy, trigger man,
tussler, ugly customer,
violent, virago, vixen, votary, wild beast, witch, wolf, wrangler