[Ads-l] goofus

[Neal Whitman]

For me, "doofus" is a common noun, while "Goofus" is a proper noun, best known from the Highlights magazine do's and don'ts duo of Goofus and Gallant.

Neal

> On May 7, 2016, at 9:19 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Yesterday Donald Trump twice very clearly called Sen. Elizabeth Warren a
> "goofus" (see HDAS). Not thirty seconds earlier he'd described her as
> "goofy."
> 
> CNN commentators (and the banner) keep characterize the word as "doofus"
> (see HDAS): "I haven't heard the word 'doofus' since high school," e.g.
> 
> Cf. "big-league" (see HDAS) and "bigly" (don't).
> 
> 
> 
> JL
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org