# Hopped up on goofballs. Where'd that come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430 "2009-09-01T01:20:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/41 "2010-06-22T04:37:39Z")
How common is barbiturate use, anyway? Chief Wiggum seems to imply that just about anyone–including Ned Flanders–could be found to be taking them. ---
**Author:** ![puketag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@puketag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puketag)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/42 "2010-07-26T16:03:37Z")
I created an account here after I googled this phrase. I have been watching mystery science theater 3000 and in season 2 “Catalina Caper”, Joel comments on a rather dopey looking man that “I think a certain looking teen idol is hopped up on goofballs”. This episode was in 1990 and predates the Simpsons ep. Although a lot of people today will remember it from the Simpsons and the phrase itself has probably been around for generations. ---
**Author:** ![fitzt70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@fitzt70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fitzt70)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/43 "2010-12-08T17:11:16Z")
The phrase “hopped up on goofballs” was stated by a witness during cross examination by Perry Mason. Episode 252, airdate 11/21/1965. Certainly not the first use but the show often tried to use exotic street lingo. [http://www.perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show252](http://www.perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show252) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/44 "2010-12-08T17:25:00Z")
> [@puketag](#): > > I created an account here after I googled this phrase. > > I have been watching mystery science theater 3000 and in season 2 “Catalina Caper”, Joel comments on a rather dopey looking man that “I think a certain looking teen idol is hopped up on goofballs”. > > This episode was in 1990 and predates the Simpsons ep. Although a lot of people today will remember it from the Simpsons and the phrase itself has probably been around for generations. I was going to mention this one. The “Dopey looking man” is Little Richard. Despite being high as a kite in that scene, he was still best part of the movie. Joel delivered the line in an old woman’s voice and Minnesota accent. I guess to reflect how square the term really was. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/45 "2010-12-09T05:50:15Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Now tell me this: I’ve never heard the OP’s phrase in either Dragnet or The Simpsons. > > But I _do_ have the phrase stuck in my mind: “Hopped up on _bennies_ and goofballs.” Is that from long ago “Just Say No” propaganda? “Bennies” were Benzedrine pills. And mocking “hopped up on goofballs” goes back as far as the early '70s, when my stoner friends and I would use it almost as often as we did “mar-ee-ju-wan-a.” ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/46 "2010-12-09T06:04:36Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Love the song, but Bruce should know better. No one who knows anything about baseball ever uses the word “speedball”. It’s a fastball, heater, Number 1, cheese. It was written no later than the early 80s about a guy probably in his late 30s, so that means the character would have been in hs no later than the early 60s. baseball slang changes over time, esp. local slang. I grew up on the shore, next town over from Bruce actually, that lyric never struck me as “off”. In fact, I thought the guy, might not even be on an organized team, it could have even been stickball or wiffleball or some games we used to play like that. Guys could definitely talk like that in their “in crowds”., esp. to distinguish a super fastball from a run of the mill one - a speedball! ---
**Author:** ![LaurvaJones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecb155/32.png) [@LaurvaJones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurvaJones)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/47 "2011-03-10T08:05:32Z")
I just saw an episode of Perry Mason in which the murderer used that expression as an excuse for not telling the truth. Hamilton Berger also used it to describe his reason. They were 60s hipsters, in a band with matching band jackets and they partied in rented apartments where later they murdered the landlord. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/48 "2011-03-10T08:47:51Z")
> [@LaurvaJones](#): > > I just saw an episode of Perry Mason in which the murderer used that expression as an excuse for not telling the truth. Hamilton Berger also used it to describe his reason. They were 60s hipsters, in a band with matching band jackets and they partied in rented apartments where later they murdered the landlord. That wouldn’t have happened to be Episode 252, airdate 11/21/1965, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Ratcoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Ratcoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ratcoon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/49 "2012-01-25T02:21:27Z")
I find it ironic that this websites tag line is “Fighting Ignorance Since 1973”. You kids actually believe this line “hopped up on goofballs” actually originated with the Simpsons?!?! If only one person had posted it I could have looked the other way, but several people. In the same thread. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/50 "2012-01-25T02:52:45Z")
Is ‘hopped up’ not a reference to hops, one of the ingredients in beer? Got nothing for the goofballs part. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/51 "2012-01-25T03:06:16Z")
Eh, the phrase was probably in “Reefer Madness.” ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/52 "2012-01-25T03:09:06Z")
> [@pukachelle](#): > > Way before Simpsons and Dragnet. Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow) said it on Leave it to Beaver. Wally didn’t call Beaver a goofball, he called him a “little goof”. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/53 "2012-01-25T03:17:30Z")
“Hopped up” was also used with regard to home-built roadsters that had modified engines to produce more power than stock engines, as in a “Hopped up jalopy”. This could have crossed over to drug users who appeared to be running on something a little more powerful than normal. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/54 "2012-01-25T05:23:38Z")
It was probably zombies. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/55 "2012-01-25T18:22:01Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Where does Mary Jane fit into all this? She’s my main thing. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/56 "2012-04-21T04:21:10Z")
> [@fitzt70](#): > > The phrase “hopped up on goofballs” was stated by a witness during cross examination by Perry Mason. Episode 252, airdate 11/21/1965. Certainly not the first use but the show often tried to use exotic street lingo. > [Perry Mason TV Series Wiki | EpisodePages / Show252](http://www.perrymasontvseries.com/wiki/index.php/EpisodePages/Show252) Funny, I just found this thread after hearing it twice on that episode of the show and wondering what the origin of the phrase was and googling on it… The Simpson comments are just stunning, really. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/57 "2012-04-21T15:12:32Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > She’s my main thing. She makes me feel alright. ---
**Author:** ![PrincessHummingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@PrincessHummingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrincessHummingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/58 "2013-07-14T23:16:54Z")
I actually JUST heard this phrase used on Gilmore Girls by Lorelai’s mother. She was describing truck drivers saying, “They always seem to be hopped up on bennies and goofballs.” Or something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![testarossa1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@testarossa1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/testarossa1222)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/59 "2019-08-20T07:30:36Z")
> [@puketag](#): > > I created an account here after I googled this phrase. > > I have been watching mystery science theater 3000 and in season 2 “Catalina Caper”, Joel comments on a rather dopey looking man that “I think a certain looking teen idol is hopped up on goofballs”. > > This episode was in 1990 and predates the Simpsons ep. Although a lot of people today will remember it from the Simpsons and the phrase itself has probably been around for generations. That’s funny I just signed up tonight after I googled this phrase! I heard it while watching an episode of Perry Mason. The guy that actually murdered the guy in this episode tried to cover his tracks by blaming a guy who was “hopped up on goofballs”. Of course when Perry Mason tried to interrogate the guy who was hopped up on goofballs he replied “I don’t know I was hopped up on goofballs at the time.” But of course he’s not the one that did it because he was too hopped up to kill anyone. Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![testarossa1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@testarossa1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/testarossa1222)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430/60 "2019-08-20T07:34:31Z")
> [@testarossa1222](#): > > That’s funny I just signed up tonight after I googled this phrase! I heard it while watching an episode of Perry Mason. The guy that actually murdered the guy in this episode tried to cover his tracks by blaming a guy who was “hopped up on goofballs”. Of course when Perry Mason tried to interrogate the guy who was hopped up on goofballs he replied “I don’t know I was hopped up on goofballs at the time.” But of course he’s not the one that did it because he was too hopped up to kill anyone. > > Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk This episode was " the Case of the Silent Six" from 1965. Sent from my SM-S907VL using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hopped-up-on-goofballs-whered-that-come-from/508430.md?page=4)