[Ads-l] Antedating of "Goof Off"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Green’s Dictionary of Slang (GDoS) has eight senses for the verb "goof off".
https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/j2sbrqi

The earliest citation in GDoS is for the following sense:

[Begin excerpt from GDoS]
2. to blunder; to wreck.
1939 [US] Army and Navy Register (US) 18 Nov. 3/2: ‘Goof off,’ to make
a mistake.
[End excerpt from GDoS]

JL’s Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (HDAS) has a
1941 citation (as mentioned by JL):

[Begin excerpt from HDAS]
goof off v. 1. Esp. Mil. To blunder; fumble; GOOF, v., 5. A.
1941 Hargrove  Pvt. Hargrove 84: Goof-off – to make a mistake.
[End excerpt from HDAS]

Like Fred, I did not attempt a comprehensive search. For this term, I
just looked in GDoS, HDAS, and OED.

Garson



On Sun, Jan 1, 2023 at 9:40 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> HDAS (a resource widely underutilized) has a 1941, from Marion Hargrove's
> best-selling _See Here, Private Hargrove!_ (pub. July, 1942).
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Dec 31, 2022 at 2:40 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> > goof off, v. (OED, 1.e., 1952)
> >
> > 1942 Yank 2 Dec. 11  He goofed off somehow.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
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