When it comes to English idioms, geese get a bad rap. A “wild goose chase” is considered a waste of time, whereas “laying a goose egg” means failing to score a point. There’s also the phrase “silly goose,” which you’d use to describe someone acting foolish. But this is a bit of an odd choice, given that geese have a reputation for acting aggressively. So why do we say “silly goose” when there are plenty of inherently goofier animals to choose from?
It may still be acceptable in modern vocabulary to tease someone by calling them a silly goose, but the wording goes back centuries. The Oxford English Dictionary points out that “goose” was used as a figurative term for a simpleton by 1547. The specific phrase “silly goose” dates back to a collection of works by late-16th-century lyrical poet Richard Edwards titled The Paradise of Dainty Devices — a 1927 edition includes the line “She crafty Foxe, the seely Goose beguiles.”
But as persistent as the silly reputation of geese is, the root of it is unknown. When Samuel Johnson compiled A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, he defined the word “goose” as “a large waterfowl proverbially noted, I know not why, for foolishness.”
There are some theories, however, as to why geese were originally considered to be so silly. One theory relates to the trope of using gullible geese as characters in fables, though many of the fables featuring these foolish geese were published much later than the 16th century (e.g., The Grimm’s Fairy Tales’ “The Fox and the Geese” from 1812). Another theory has to do with an early definition of the word “silly” (or “seely”) — it meant “innocent,” but when referring to animals, it also meant “having a simplistic nature.” This could have applied to geese, and then “silly” evolved into its goofier meaning.
So while neither we, nor Samuel Johnson, will ever know exactly why geese are thought to be so silly (maybe it’s the waddle?),we can still accept it for what it means today. We hope this brief explanation helps you feel a little less silly when you ask a question yourself.
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