"G" Slang

gomer

General

Hospital acronym for 'Get Out of My Emergency Room.' Aimed at the elderly, demented, often non-communicative patient who keeps rolling through the doors with a pile of chronic conditions nothing can really fix. Cruel, weary, deeply gallows. Popularised by Samuel Shem's 1978 novel 'The House of God', though Shem said it was already kicking around Boston wards by the early 70s.

gomergram

General

Slang for the shotgun ordering of a vast battery of investigations, typically on a GOMER, often to cover oneself rather than to help.

gone

General

Carried away by music or feeling, lost in it to the point of transcendence.

gone camping

General

Slang for a patient enclosed in an oxygen tent, as if camping under canvas.

gone elvis

General

Slang for missing in action — someone who has disappeared, as if they 'left the building' like Elvis.

gone for a burton

General

RAF euphemism for a pilot killed or shot down. Said with the stiff-upper-lip understatement of a generation that couldn't say 'dead' out loud. The aircrew slang equivalent of stepping out for a moment and never coming back.

gone off legs

General

British shorthand for an older patient who has abruptly lost the ability to mobilise, a common non-specific presentation. Abbreviated GOL.

gone west

General

When a plan, a person, or a head has gone off the rails. 'Me head's gone west' means I'm losing the plot; 'the night went west' means it derailed. Same vibe as 'pear-shaped' but with more drama.

goniff

Street

A goniff is a thief, swindler, or dishonest person. The word passed from Yiddish into American underworld and general slang.

gonnae no dae that

General

A request (often exasperated or humorous) for someone to stop doing something.

good as gold

General

An expression meaning everything is fine, or that a person is doing well or is trustworthy.

good buddy

General

Originally the friendliest word on the CB. In the 70s boom, 'good buddy' meant a fellow CBer, a pal on the channel, someone you'd shoot the breeze with at 3am on I-80. Films and pop songs turned it into the cliché trucker greeting everyone recognised.

good drink

Street

Houston code for lean — prescription codeine cough syrup mixed with soda (usually Sprite) and a Jolly Rancher, sipped from a double styrofoam cup. 'Good' is the giveaway; regular drink is regular drink.

good gravy

General

A wholesome exclamation of surprise or mild annoyance used in place of profanity.

good looks

General

An expression of gratitude, short for 'good looking out.' Acknowledges someone doing you a favor.

good oil

General

Accurate, useful information or the true facts.

good on ya

General

An expression of approval or congratulation; occasionally sarcastic.

good on ya mate

General

A warm expression of praise or thanks to a friend.

good sort

General

An attractive person, or a thoroughly decent, likeable one, depending on context.

good time

Street

Time deducted from a sentence for staying out of trouble and following the rules. Losing it is a common punishment.

good training

General

A sardonic phrase for a bad experience reframed as valuable practice, since anything short of death or a commander's relief counts.

goodas

General

A high-quality, independent and successful woman; a compliment celebrating a 'good' woman.

goodbye stage

Internet

The last live performance of a title track as a group wraps up a promotion cycle. Often emotional and features special outfits or messages.

gooey butter cake

General

A flat, rich St. Louis cake with a gooey, buttery top and a firmer crust, dusted with powdered sugar.

goof

General

In Canadian prisons this isn't the harmless word it is outside. 'Goof' is the worst thing you can call another inmate — it accuses them of being a rat, a skinner, or generally beneath contempt. It's a fighting word in the literal sense: if you're called a goof and don't swing, the wing assumes the label fits.

goof-butt

Street

An old jazz-era term for a marijuana cigarette.

goofy

Internet

Can be affectionate for someone playfully silly.

goofy ahh

Internet

Childish, dumb-looking or absurd in a way that's funny rather than offensive. 'Ahh' is just 'ass' filtered through TikTok-safe phonetic spelling and a thick AAVE-inflected delivery — 'that goofy-ass kid' becomes 'that goofy ahh kid'. Slapped onto people, faces, dance moves, AI images and anything mildly cringe. The construction 'goofy ahh ___' (goofy ahh name, goofy ahh haircut) is its own meme format.

goofy foot

General

Surfing stance with the right foot forward and left foot at the back of the board, the opposite of regular stance.

goofy-footed

General

Describes a rider whose natural stance and spin direction lead toward their forward foot, opposite to the more common 'regular' orientation. It affects which way tricks feel natural.

goomah

Street

A goomah (or goomar) is a Mafia man's mistress, kept apart from his family life.

goon

General

Cheap wine sold in a foil bladder inside a cardboard cask; the bladder is the 'goon bag'.

goon bag

General

The foil bladder of cheap cask wine, sometimes inflated and used as a pillow ('goon of fortune').

goon spoon

General

A shovel — specifically the one the apprentice, labourer or new hire ends up holding all day. 'Goon' is the unskilled muscle, 'spoon' is the shape of the blade. Slightly mocking, mostly affectionate. If the foreman tells you to grab a goon spoon, your day just got long.

goon squad

Street

The tactical or investigative unit that conducts aggressive searches, cell extractions, and internal investigations. Formally the Investigative Services Unit in California.

gooseberry

Street

A third person present with a couple, making them a superfluous chaperone.

gopher

Street

In old underworld cant a 'gopher' referred to a safe, and by extension to the person who broke into safes ('gopher man,' 'gopher-cracker').

gopher ball

General

A pitch that a batter hits for a home run, from the pitcher's perspective; a play on the ball 'going for' extra bases.

gordon bennett

Street

An exclamation of surprise, frustration or disbelief.

gorean

General

A BDSM subculture and lifestyle built around the fictional planet Gor from John Norman's pulp sci-fi series, a world of male dominance and female submission. Goreans borrow its hierarchy, rituals, slave positions, and commands; submissive women take the title kajira (slave). Lifestylers (or literalists) weave it into daily life, while role players keep it to scenes. Heavily critiqued for the source novels' extreme sexism.

gorgon

General

A person of the highest respect and skill, especially a formidable dread; 'don gorgon' is a supreme don.

gorilla

Street

A gorilla is a criminal who relies on brute force, whether to rob victims or to enforce for a gang. It stresses muscle over finesse.

gorked

General

Slang for a patient who is deeply obtunded or unconscious, often from overdose, sedation, or severe illness.

gormless

General

Stupid, vacant or slow-witted. Originated in Northern dialect, now widespread.

gorpcore

Pop

Used adjectivally for anything outdoorsy-technical worn for fashion.

got 'em

General

A boastful callout after breaking down or fooling a defender with a move.

got a cob on

General

To be in a bad mood, sulking or visibly miffed. Midlands phrase, especially Brummie. 'Cob' here doesn't mean the bread roll — it's an older dialect word for a lump or swelling, so you're carrying around a lump of grump.

got hands

Street

Describing an inmate who can genuinely fight and wins hand-to-hand.