"the goose"

[Jonathan Lighter]

As OED explains, to "get the goose" was old-time theatrical slang meaning to
be hissed on stage. Evidently it soon came to mean to be hissed *off* the
stage, as suggested by this uncommon U.S. ex., which goes further to mean
"reject dismissively; dismiss." (Cf. the identical development of to "give
someone the bird," now subsumed under "to flip the bird.")

1879 _Daily Arkansas Gazette_ (Little Rock, Ark.) (Apr. 1) (unp.): "Give
Ginocchio the Goose." Don't Vote for a Man Who'd Sell You Out. Knock Him
Down with the Club of Ballot Box Retribution.

The last phrase is really catchy, once you say it enough.  Listen for it in
November!

JL
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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