I saw it used in a film review in the local paper over the weekend. It’s not a word that I come across very often. From the context I take it that it means “relaxed”. It’s not listed in any of my dictionaries. What is its origin?
I imagine it was taken from Goosey Loosey, a character in the Chicken Little story.
…Or not.
Dictionary.com says it was derived from the phrase “Loose as a goose”, and is used to mean “visibly relaxed or not tense”. Other sources say it’s also used to mean “unstructured”. It appears to be primarily British in origin and usage.
I’m not convinced it’s British in origin, but you could convince me with cites.
The term entered the general US vocabulary in the 1960’s. It was mainly confined to the sports(bseball) field prior to that. I’ve found the earliest US print cite–1943.
There’s an episode of the show “Jeeves & Wooster” in which Bertie Wooster sings a song called “Ever So Goosey”…
[quote]
How do you feel when you marry your ideal?
Ever so goosey, goosey, goosey, goosey
How do you feel when the bells begin to peal?
Ever so goosey, goosey, goosey, goosey
Walking up the aisle, in a kind of daze
Do you get the wind up when the organ plays?
How do you feel when you marry your ideal
Ever so goosey, goosey, goosey, goosey
How do you feel when the parson’s done the deal?
Ever so goosey, goosey, goosey, goosey
According to the research of the nice folks at the Mudcat Cafe the song was recorded first in 1929, in England.
This isn’t a direct reference for “loosey goosey” but the lyrics of the song seem to indicate that the word “goosey” means “feeling groovy”…
BTW i do not know if the character Bertie Wooster sings the song in the PG Wodehouse book or just on the show.
And from the song Chantilly Lace (which I’m sure is something after 1929…)
Makes me feel real loose like a long-necked goose