Where did the phrase “get someone’s goat” come from?
As is the case with baseball, the phrase "get someone's goat" seems endemic to boxing by 1910, though the sport has no direct connection to an actual goat. I find it significant that a well-informed journalist writing about boxing in 1910 is under the impression that the expression originated with horse racing.
What does the idiom'get my goat'mean?
But the idiom "gets my goat" has always, to my family, meant that something has triggered you into responding in a somewhat aggressive way. It may have been something that angered or annoyed you. But sometimes for no particular reason. I always thought that the term we use today "being triggered" was similar though not exactly the same thing.
What is the origin of the phrase “put the goat in stall”?
The exact origin of this phrase has been lost. Some sources speculate that this expression comes from horse racing. People believed that placing a goat in a horse’s stall the night before a race would calm the horse.
What is the origin of the phrase'goats and horses'?
The phrase may be of naval origin, originally relating to ship's goats kept as mascots. Stable goats were also commonly kept with horses, which may have been the imagery some users were more familiar with.
What does "get your goat" mean?
Why do goats run with racehorses?
Where did the idiom "gets my goat" come from?
The idiom “gets my goat” has its origin connected with US and the phrase exactly was found for the first time in a story related to burst water pipe which was noticed in a US daily paper in May 1909.
What does "gets my goat" mean?
What does “Gets my goat” mean? “Gets my goat” means to make fun of, to bother, to hurt and to make angry someone. The idiom has the connotative meaning of mocking, exasperating, and to make someone feel very ashamed. In other words, this phrase means to bully, to crack jokes and to disrespect someone. The idiom stresses on the way we lack respect ...
When did the idiom "gets my goat" become popular?
After the passage of time, this phrase was getting its popularity across US. In 1924, the idiom “gets my goat” was noticed in a story “White Monkey” written by an English writer, John Galsworthy.
Can't get my goat lyrics?
You can make fun of other guys , you can tease them but if you try even hundred times; you can’t get my goat. My friend always gets got of others with his obnoxious nature. Don’t get goat of others, you are not any philosopher.
Why did the goats in the stables give the horse a sense of security?
The presence of a goat in the stable gave the horse a sense of security and relaxation, and since the goat was a constant friend, the horse became attached to it. The rivals accustomed to pay stable workers to steal the goat the night before the final race.
Examples of Get Your Goat
Here is an example of a math professor using the expression with a student who won’t pay attention in class.
More Examples
This excerpt is from a horoscope for people with the astrological sign Aries.
Summary
The saying get your goat is an idiom people use to express their frustration with something.
Where did the phrase "got his goat" come from?
There are lots of highly educated people with college degrees who do not know the origin of the classic expression, “ Got his Goat .” This fine literary phrase, so far-reaching in its psychic import, originated in East Aurora Illinois.] It was first used by Ali Baba.
What does "get a goat" mean?
Lighter, The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1994) takes a cautious approach to the question of how "get [one's] goat" originated: get (someone's) goat {despite several attempted explanations, the inspiration behind this phrase remains unknown} 1. to anger or annoy (someone).
What does "get someone's goat" mean?
In particular, a boxing story from 1910 asserts that some stables did house goats with high-strung horses even at that time—and claims that miscreants seeking to skew the results of an impending race did sometimes steal a goat from its shared quarters with a race horse. This report is especially striking in that the earliest Google Books matches for various forms of "get [one's] goat" date back to 1907—only three years earlier. So it appears that, accurate or not, the stolen goat explanation has been tied to the phrase since before most people were even aware of it as an idiom.
What does "goat" mean in baseball?
The "goat" is your good-luck charm, mascot, or calming goat. The phrase is first recorded in a Navy story in 1905, followed closely by a Navy-Boxing story, and followed by many references in boxing. It was also used commonly in baseball reporting starting in 1907. At the time, it meant something like, losing the will to compete. Although some early references do seem to mean, anger, that was not the dominant meaning early. The phrase may be of naval origin, originally relating to ship's goats kept as mascots. Stable goats were also commonly kept with horses, which may have been the imagery some users were more familiar with.
Why do horses quarter with goats?
To keep a racehorse from going stale a trainer frequently quarters with him a goat, for the pet relieves the thoroughbred of his loneliness. But intriguers have found that by stealing a goat from a horse a day or two before a great race he can be thrown out of condition.
What does "goat" mean in singing?
Thus, the meaning of 'goat' in Sing-Sing slang may rely only on the consonance of 'goat' and 'goad', and may have no bearing whatsoever on the meaning of 'got somebody's goat' . Three instances of the complete phrase, 'to get [somebody's] goat', crop up in print in 1905.
Who said "get one's goat"?
One of the earliest instances of "get one's goat" in a nonsporting context that my Google Books searches turned up is from Burke Jenkins, " The Anti-Climax of a Bad Man ," in The Argosy (September 1907):
Where does the word "to get someone's goat" come from?
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English says that “to get someone’s goat” may come from the French expression prendre la chevre, which means to take the goat. Apparently, one way people could get milk was from a goat. So naturally, taking the animal would anger its owner.
What does it mean to get someone's goat?
Hearing this expression the first time, you might think it means to steal someone's goat. But that is wrong. If someone gets your goat, they make you angry.
How long have people been dealing with goats?
People have been dealing with goats for a long time. A website on the history of goats, The Goat Guide, says their story dates back many centuries. It claims that people began using the animals as food over 9,000 years ago! Goats are nosy, social animals. They are strong and can live in any number of environments.
What is a goat's facial hair?
Now, goats have small, tufts of hair on the lower part of the face. So a goatee is facial hair in about the same part of the chin on a man. It looks a little like the beard on a male goat. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary claims that the word goatee first appeared in 1841.
Why did people put goats near horses?
In the 1900s, people who trained horses were said to have put goats near racehorses to keep them calm. Just before the race, the goat was removed. This would, supposedly, make the horse nervous and ready to run. However, there is no evidence to support this explanation.
What is goat hair used for?
Their meat is tasty and can be prepared in different ways. In addition, goat hair is used to make some of the finest and softest clothing money can buy. With such a long history and so much going for goats, you would think that English has many expressions with the word goat. But it doesn’t. We only found two.
Do not let anyone get your goat?
Don't Let Anyone 'Get Your Goat'. July 07, 2018. This is a picture of goat yoga. Yes. Goat yoga. These yoga students are take a class with Nigerian Dwarf goats in Los Angeles, California, May 2018. Now, Words and Their Stories, a program from VOA Learning English. On this program, we take English expressions and explain where they came from ...
What does "get your goat" mean?
Given the meaning of 'get your goat', we might expect to find goat as a slang term meaning anger or annoyance. That meaning is recorded in the US book Life in Sing Sing, 1904, which goat is given as a slang term for anger. The phrase originated in the US and the first entry in print that I can find comes from a fanciful story about ...
Why do goats run with racehorses?
A commonly repeated story which purports to explain the phrase's origin is that goats were placed with racehorses to keep them calm. When ne'er-do-wells who wanted the horse to race badly removed it, that is, they 'got someone's goat', the horse became unsettled and ran badly.
