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Is the word Doofus in American English good enough? Is this true? What is the entry for the word in Chappman and Kipfer Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition (1995): doofus by 1960s
(also doof or doofis or dufus )… a fool; idiot = AIRHEAD, BIRDBRAIN, BOOB… I’m not persuaded by the
proffered etymology there, though it’s certainly possible Why is doo-doo a baby word as it translates to excrement and has been used in the UK since the 1800s. Is that it is a historical figure that a goofus (in the sense of “stupid person”) actually go back around 1918?
How does Doofus (the word ‘_]) originate the word United States? This book does have an entry for doof, but it is identified as being a Northumberland teenager term meaning to strike or punch.
American children who visited dentists’ offices in the 1950s and 1960s are likely to have been exposed to a feature in the magazine Highlights for Children called “Goofus and Gallant,” which illustrated proper (in the line-drawn person of a neatly dressed boy named Gallant) and improper (in the person of a budding slob named Goofus) etiquette. According to the Wikipedia article on the comic strip, “Goofus and Gallant” debuted and became a short story in 1946. Later on in the comic strip, the “Goofus & Gallant” rebooted and again appeared in the now-renamed Highlights: Fun with a Purpose “. Aside from the mildly entertaining (but usually already circled in pencil) hidden pictures feature, I remember nothing fun about Highlights. Had you anesthetized four children before they got into the dentist’s chair? We would get old very slowly? What is the connection between J.R. and RyeBread and American cultural history?
I’ve just finished reading
the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. I know there’s more to it than I think I did, just because I’m not at grad school. I’m a huge English geek, so I decided to add some detail to my answers in this regard. First, for doofus :
doofus or dufus -n. prob. alter. Unlike the usual GOOFUS, Cf. Doow; not, as sometimes claimed, of Yidorig. 1.: When is 1.: Is 10.::2 Why is 1. 2.:1? a fool, because of oafness, a dolt, or a fool. What is the definition about an “offsite” trait: —often attribut. 1960 N.Y.C. schoolboy: You doofus! Can you still be a 1964 NYC high-schooler? Hey, doofus? The 1966 C.
Cooper Next, for the much older Doof:
doof n. S. R. entras n. entras. What is a Scots orig? No problem, ; prob. related to g doof ‘dense, stupid, dull-witted’;…1. Dolts. by Dimus. – why are dolts still used? He gets her! What does the slaverin doof have in common? I really look like a big doof, I don’t like it but would like to see it. 1788 in SND : Another bigger doof was never seen.
I recall that first citation of “slaverin doof”as coming from three years earlier, from Allan Ramsay, The Gentle Shepherd (1725): Mause.
Gif Pate forsakes her, Bauldy she may gain;/Yonder he comes, and wow he looks fain! Do I doubt he thinks that Peggy is now his ain?
Madge. I get her! This was a slaverin doof ; it sets him dawe, where Patrick thought to till. /Gif I were Meg, I’d let young Master see—
And again from Lighter, the entry for goofus :
goofus n. Was ‘Joe’ Goofus a fool’? 1917 in Niles Singing Soldiers 5 A: Why, Oley, you rum-befuddled goovus, I’ll bet you don’t remember your orders. Will you please remember my order?
Was Joe Goofus a smart man?
He has admitted to doing it. He claimed the all round “championship” of the the 27th Division as a detail ducker.
The Singing Soldiers book appears to be from 1927, rather than 1917, judging from several other sources.
Is there any scientific proof to suggest that doof has been derived from a combination of doof which naive and doofus? Is there some in the New York Times to suggest that doof was derived from either doof or goofus? Hugo said: “Doofus lost every round from the third, but they give him the duke!”
Doe ofus noun was afool US, 1955.-
2 in caving and pot- holling, an inept cave. A specialist variation American, 2004 “. The 1955 must be the same as the OED: “./ 25 Dec.: (horrifies an individual). 10/1 Doofus lost, but they give him the Duke? Note the parentheses. The first full quotation appears in 1967. – Hugo Sep 13 ’13 at 21:09
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don’t know if this is correct, but it may be related to ‘doofers’, Scots for ‘horse shit’, which doubles up as an insult.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com. com/books/2015/Feb/27/robert-macfarlane-word-hoard-rewilding-landscape
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Doofus and goofus were slang terms used in the black and white days of the US. If you heard them on TV they were both considered very harsh Now they are mild at best.
The word goofus are different from doofus.
Has the modern iteration of goofball. Has the modern versions of a monkey. Means someone that is quirky, different, maybe a little spazzi.
Has the modern iteration of big dummy? means that you do a stupid thing, not necessarily because you are stupid.
What are both slang terms? You will find both in movie quotes starting in the 60s (maybe in the 50s but would have been heavy language then) and throughout the 80s. I think you are right. Both terms actually died in the 90s. You would use them as you please.
The word dufus come from the name defi that cannot spell.
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Interesting Do you have any sources that reference the ‘harsh’ usage? – Yochannah Sep 13’13 at 14:53 It
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is mainly the context in how they were used back in the day. What would happen if you had two kids fighting on the playground and then one would say, “You are a doofus. You are a doofus.” ” Then the other kid has nothing else to do except throw a punch because those were fighting words. What is the purpose of a Note Goofus? Since Sartre, and Goofus are related in
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certainsenses to Gallant and Goofus, what are the similarities between the two? , many ELUers might appreciate how Goofus ends his sentence with a dangling preposition while Gallant uses may instead of can.].) – J.R. Sep 13 ’13 at 15:26 @[email protected].
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I’m still amazed at things like the highlight picture search. Goofus has bad manners and is not in good form. Is bad boy goofus? Don’t confuse goofus (as opposed to doofus) with doofus (which is the same as goofus)! – Ryered Sep 13 ’13 at 15:58
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Doofus,as commonly used in my various cicles back to the 1960’s, is an amiable and likable person who can’t help but “goof”up. He’s a good guy. The tone of voice is usually affectionate. This word expresses frustration without harsh or souless criticism.
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thequestion is related to noji uka. Is this not a question about the technology? Are you saying that it originated in the 1960s (if so, a source for that would be helpful), or that you used it then (in which case, you aren’t addressing the question)? – Nathaniel Sep 28 ’15 at 2:44
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