Sayings and Expressions that begin with the letter "G" from "Gadget" to "Gyp joint"

Society in every state is a blessing, but Government even in its best state, is a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
Thomas Paine 1776

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GADGET---A small mechanical contrivance or device.---If we can't think of the name of a useful device we often call it a gadget. Sailors in Britains merchant marine gave us this term. It was adopted from the French gachettemeaning a small mechanism from guns or locks.

new! GALOOT---An awkward, uncouth or foolish fellow.---"The big galoot nearly knocked me down."---Naval slang. J. R. Vaux (1812) Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue---Fredrick Marryat (1835) Jacob Faithful Four greater galoots were never picked up."

GAG A MAGGOT---Stink.---"That smell would gag a maggot."

new! GALLIVANT---To gad about with the opposite sex; to go in search of excitement or amusement.---"You had better quit your gallivanting around."---On of my mother's favorites.---some corruption of gallant.

GATHER ROSEBUDS WHILE YOU CAN---Take advantage of your opportunities; live for the present.---Apocrypha: The Wisdom of Solomon 2:8 "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered."

new! GEE WHIZ---A minced oath for Jesus Christ.---As with all minced oaths they originated because it was an abomination to use the lords name in vain.

GENIUS IS ONE PERCENT INSPIRATION AND NINETY-NINE PERCENT PERSPIRATION---Ideas are necessary to be successful, but hard work and tenacity are what get things done.---Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

GET A HANDLE ON IT---Get a grasp on something.---"I tried to solve the problem, but I just couldn't get a handle on it."---Probably from the early days of football, announcers would say that they ought to put a handle on the ball so the players could hold on to it.

GET A LEG UP ON---Head start; having help making a start on something.---"He has a leg up on the rest of the field." --- "He just needs a leg up."---Charles Dickens (1837) Pickwick Papers "The wall is very low, sir, and your servant will give you a leg up."

GET INTO THE SWING OF THINGS---Develop a rhythm or momentum in some activity.---"He will soon get into the swing of things."---Thomas H. Huxley (1864) "My lectures tire me, for want of practice. I shall soon get into the swing."

GET A MOVE ON---Hurry up.---"Get a move on, we don't have much time."

GET OFF SCOT FREE---To escape payment of punishment.---"He committed the crime and now he is going to get away scot free."---Comes from the Anglo Saxon sceot meaning "money put into the general fund," a tax. It was levied upon the people according to their ability to pay. "Scot free" first meant "tax free." Notion appears in Charter of 1066 as "Scotfre". William Tyndale (1531) "The poore synner shulde go Scot fre without oughte at all."

GET ONES GOAT---To upset someone.---"She really got his goat this time."---Horse racers will often place a goat in the stall with a nervous horse. The horse soon becomes accustomed to having the goat there and finds it comforting. He becomes less nervous and is not so easily upset. If a rival owner can steal or "get" this goat, then the horse gets nervous and upset and is likely to loose the race. Christy Mathewson (1912) Pitching in a Pinch "The Lobert stopped at third with a mocking smile which would have gotten the late Job's goat."

new! GET THE HANG OF IT---Learn how to do something; understand how something works.---"He will be able to do it on his own now, I think he has the hang of it."---When tools were made by blacksmiths, farmers etc., it was very important that the tool be balanced and feel right in order to make the use of it as easy as possible. If a tool were picked up and had good balance and feel it was said to have a good hang. If you got the hang of it, you got the feel and balance just right.

new! GET THE WRINKLES OUT---Put on the finishing touches; fix any minor problems.---As in ironing, get everything smooth and neat.

GET THE SACK---Fired or dismissed.---"Jim is probably going to get the sack this morning."---(1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee geue it the bagge."

GET THE WRONG END OF THE STICK (Short)---At a disadvantage.---"I think I am getting the short end of the stick on this deal."---J. Wilson (1664) Cheats "If at any time you find you have the worst end of the staff, leave off your cause and fall upon the person of your adversary."

GET UP AND GO---Energy; drive; motivation.---"I just don't seem to have any get up and go this morning."---John Beadle (1873) The Undeveloped West "If you have any get up about you, and can an will work, there's a show for you in rural Nebraska.

GET WHILE THE GETTIN'S GOOD---Escape while you can; get something while the opportunity presents itself.---"The storm is coming, we had better get while the gettin's good."

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER---Get organized; work coherently.---"If Joe would get his act together we could finish this project."---Theater: Reflecting the feelings of an actor who is nervous or thought his performance could be better. (1978) Manchester Guardian Weekly "It merely requires that the administration get its act together."---Also, "get your shit together".

GET YOUR DANDER UP---Become irritated, stubborn or angry.---"Linda has got her dander up today, stay clear."---Seba Smith (1830) The Letters of Major Jack Downing "He was as spunky as thunder, and when a Quaker gets his dander up, it's like a Northwester."

GET YOUR EARS LOWERED---Get a haircut.---"He looks better since he got his ears lowered."

GET YOUR SECOND WIND---Feel renewed vigor.---"I think I am getting my second wind."---It is a common after running, or doing something physically demanding, to be winded and ready to quit after a period of time. If you persist that temporary feeling soon passes and you feel that you can continue on. Thomas Hood (1830) The Epping hunt "I am much gratified to learn from you, the Epping hunt has had such a run that is quite exhausted, and that you intend therefore to give the work what might be called 'second wind' by a new impression."

GILD THE LILY---To overdo something; add to something that is already perfect. Shakespeare King John "Therefore, to be poss'd with double pomp, to guard a title that was rech before, to guld refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw perfume on the violet,......is wasteful and ridiculous excess."

GIMMICK---Deception; secret device; ruse.---"Roy has always go a gimmick."---At carnivals, grifters and confidence men vied with one another in attracting customers and spoke a language of their own. Showy but worthless prizes, known as gimcracks, were used to attract customers. Every gimcrack peddler kept his hand on his gimmick, a little brake like control that enabled him to stop the wheel at any point he wished, thus cheating the people out of their money.

GIVE A CHILD ALL HE SHALL CRAVE, AND A DOG WHILE HIS TAIL DOTH WAVE; AND YOU'LL HAVE A FAIR DOG AND A FOUL KNAVE---Brunne (1303).

GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM HOW TO CATCH FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A LIFETIME.---The best way to help people is to teach them skills, not offer handouts.---(Lyndon Johnson should have read this one.)---Ancient Chinese proverb.

new! GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM TO FISH AND HE WILL SIT IN A BOAT AND DRINK BEER ALL DAY---No explanation necessary.

GIVE HER THE GUN---Rev up an engine.---"Give her the gun and see how she runs."---An engine without a muffler when throttled up sounds like a machine gun, especially an aircraft engine.

GIVE HIM AN INCH AND HE WILL TAKE A MILE---Make a small exception to a rule and soon there will be no rule; give a child some freedom and some will expand it as far as they can.---"If you let Bill come back from lunch a few minutes late today and he will be a half hour late tomorrow, give him an inch and he will take a mile."---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Whan I gaue you an ynche ye tooke an ell." (mile)

GIVE HIM ENOUGH ROPE AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF---Given enough freedom and time and a person will get caught in a misdeed.---"Just give him enough rope, he will hang himself."---If you tie up a horse, or any animal, and give them enough rope they will eventually become entangled in it.---Thomas Fuller (1639) The History of the Holly War

new! GIVE IT A LICK AND A PROMISE---Do the minimum necessary to finish a job or project; superficial.---"I don't think the plumbing is going to work long, the plumber just gave it a lick and a promise."

new! GIVE IT THE ONCE OVER---See (Give it a lick and a promise)

GIVE LIP SERVICE---All talk, no action.---"He is just giving you lip service, nothing will be done about it."---Sidney (1580) Arcadia "All is but lip wisdom that wants experience."

GIVE NO QUARTER---Killing without any process---"If they are captured they will be given no quarter"---Originally meant to give quarter. Enemy soldiers were sent to a special section or "quartered" until their fate was determined. They could be set free, ransomed or enslaved. Those who were killed instead were given "no quarter"

GIVE THE BAG---Dismiss; to fire.---"The boss is going to give him the bag this time."---Brandl (1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee giue it the bagge."

GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE---(1589) Pap with a Hatchet "Give them their due though they were deuels.

GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY---Make it a contest.

GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE---Being present without contributing; join an activity for no particular reason.---"He's just along for the ride."---(20th Century slang).

GO BANANAS---Going out of one's mind because of a situation.---"He's going bananas."---Possibly alludes to the actions caused by throwing a banana into a cage full of monkeys.(1970) (magazine) Time Liza Minelli moved into the sheltered, regimented Barbizon hotel for Women, Liza says: 'I went bananas!'"

GO FOR BROKE---Risk everything.---"Let's go for broke."

GO HAYWIRE---In disarray; tangled up.---"Everything around here has gone haywire today."---When the wire is cut from bales of hay it invariably ends up in a tangled mess.---H. L. Mencken (1946) The American Language "No one who has ever opened a bale of hay with a hatchet, and had the leaping wire whirl about him and its sharp ends poniard him, will ever have any doubt as to how to go haywire originated."

GO LIKE THE WIND---Move fast.---"Here they come, let's go like the wind."---Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream "About the wood go swifter than the wind."

GO OFF HALF COCKED---Act too hastily; without planning.---"He never thinks ahead, he is always going off half cocked."---James Lowell (1848) The Bigelow Papers "No, don't go off Half-cock." A gun that is not fully cocked is not ready to fire.

GO TO THE DOGS---Declining; come to a bad end.---"Sometimes I think this country is going to the dogs."---Food not fit for people to eat is thrown to the dogs. Thomas Cooper (1565) Thesaurus "Addicere aliquem canibus" (To bequeath him to the dogs).

GO WHOLE HOG---Go all out.---"He has gone whole hog this time."---Marryat (1836) Japhet "As you are not prepared, as th Americans say, to go the whole hog, we will part good friends."

new! GOBBLEDY GOOK---Talk or writing that is pompous, wordy or full of Latinized words.---"Tell me in plain English, don't give me all that gobbledy gook."---Maury Maverick (1895 - 1954)

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES---No one who has not made a genuine effort to accomplish something cannot expect God's assistance.---Aesop (550 B.C.) "It is better to be self-reliant than to pray for divine intervention".

GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS---God's plan in unfathomable.---William Cowper (1779.) Olney Hymns "God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm."

GOD'S MILL GRINDS SLOW BUT SURE---In our finite lives we are unable to see the plan but it is moving along just the same.---Herbert (1640) Prudentum The ancient Greek one: "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder."

GOES WITHOUT SAYING---Obvious or well known.---"I love my wife, that goes without saying."---(1897) (magazine) Literature "It goes without saying that the books are not ordinary ones."

GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES---Not getting anything accomplished; ineffectual.---"I have been going around in circles all day."---Patricia Wentworth (1942) Pursuit of a Parcel "He had been rushing around in circles."

GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET (HAND BAG)

new! GONE BY THE BOARD---Past; over.---"Our chances of securing the contract have gone by the board."---Nautical term: The boards or sides of the ship. When you passed something at sea, it went by the board.

new! GONE SOUTH---Declining; failure.---"I think our business is about to go south."---North is commonly thought of as up, south as down. i.e. map.

GONE TO POT---Ruined; gone to the bad.---"Charlie is really going to pot."---Allusion to the pot in which leftovers of cooked meat are put ready for their last appearance as hash. (1649) Somers Tracts "Many a wiser man than I hath gone to pot."

GONE WITH THE WIND---Said of something that has been swept away and is no longer here.---"He was here a minute ago, now he is gone with the wind."---Ernest Dowson (1896) Cynara "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion. I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind, Flung roses, roses, riotously, with the throng."

GOOD AS GOLD---Very good.---"Jim's little boy is as good as gold."---Dickens (1843) Carol "And how did little Time behave?" asked Mrs. Cratchit. "As good as gold," said Bob.

GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT---No matter what; take a person or thing as he or it comes.---"We will have to live with the results, good, bad or indifferent."---Spinoza (1677) Ethics "One and the same thing can at the same time be good, bad, and indifferent, e.g. music is good to the melancholy, bad to those who mourn, and neither good nor bad to the deaf.

GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS---Fences give one privacy from nosey neighbors.---S. Palmer (1710) Moral Essays on Proverbs "A wall between preserves love."

GOOD LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE---Will get something done or get somewhere if nothing unforseen happens.

new! GOOD OLD BOY---Southern expression: A regular fellow; accepted member of a group; a closed group or click of southern men.---"Never mind city hall, the good old boys run things down here."---(1976) Time Magazine "The core of the good ole boy's world is with his buddies, the comfortable, hyper hearty, all-male camaraderie, joshing and drinking and regaling one another with tales of assorted, exaggerated prowess."

GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH---Who needs you? I'm glad you're leaving; that thing is worthless, I'm glad it's gone.---Charles Dickens (1848) Dombey and Son

GOODIE TWO SHOES---Exceptionally good person; a person who likes to flaunt their virtues and point out your shortcomings. (Especially after a person has reformed)---"She is certainly a goodie two shoes."---Oliver Goldsmith or John Newberry (1765) The History of Little Goodie Two Shoes A children's story about Goodie who had one shoe; then when she was given a pair of new shoes, ran around showing them off to everyone she met saying, "Two shoes! Two shoes!"

GOT UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED---Having a bad day; the day started out wrong.---"I must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today."---Long ago it was believed that evil resided in the left side of the body. One should not get up from the left side of the bed or put one's left foot on the floor first. Inn keepers sometimes put the left side of the bed against the wall to protect the guest from starting the day with such a curse. A. Behn (1676) Town-Fop "Sure I rose the wrong way today, I have had such damn'd ill luck."

GRANDSTAND---Showy or unnecessary action to draw attention.---"Let's get on with the presentation and quit grandstanding."---Long before baseball offered million dollar contracts, players were popular heros. Most of the accolades went to pitchers and batters, some fielders developed a way of attracting the attention of the spectators. With a little practice, a player could learn to make an easy fielding play look as though it required a lot of skill and effort. Such actions did not effect the final outcome, but it would be the talk of the town among fans who were thrilled by it.

GRASP AT STRAWS---Act in desperation; clinging onto any little chance of hope.---"I don't think it will work, I am just grasping at straws now."---If someone is drowning they will grab onto anything that floats by, even a straw.---C. Brooke (1614) Richard The Third "And now like a man (ready to drown) catch at a helpless thing."

GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCEOther peoples lives always seem more desirable than our own; we're never satisfied with what we have.---Ovid (43 B.C. - A.D. 18.) Fertilior seges est alenis semper in agris (The harvest is always more fruitful in another man's fields.)

GRAVEYARD SHIFT---Late night work shift.---Adulteration of "gravy eyed".---In ancient times any thick liquid was called gravy. Humour running from the eyes (sleep) was called gravy eye. Sailors who had the watch that started at midnight were often gravy eyed as they went on watch. The middle watch was referred to as the "gravy eyed shift". The transition to landlubbers was graveyard shift.

GRAVY TRAIN---Obtaining something with little or no effort.---"He is on the gravy train now."---Meat and potatoes being necessities, gravy is an extra. Someone who not only has all the necessities of life but the extras also is said to be on the gravy train. Benjamin Bodkin (1945) Lay My Burden Down "They is on the gravy train and don't know it.

GREASED LIGHTNING---Very fast.---"He is quicker than greased lightning." (1833) Boston, Lincoln and Louth Herald "He spoke as quick as greased lightning."

new! GREAT GUNS!---Expletive meaning something great, unusual or progressing well.---"We were going great guns till the fifth inning."---William Smyth The Sailor's Wordbook. "heavy cannons and officers of notable repute".---Charles Dickens (1841) Barnaby Rudge "It blows great guns, indeed. There'll be many a crash in the forest tonight."

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE---People of the same mind tend to share similar ideas, make the same decisions.---(1640) Winthrop Papers

GREAT OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW---Great successes often develop from something very small; no matter how small or insignificant one may be, one can become great.---Chaucer (1385) Troilus and Criiseyde "Tall oaks from little acorns grow."

GREAT SCOTT---Exclamation of praise or wonderment; startled.---Army commander Winfield S. Scott is responsible for this expression. Vain and disliked by many of his subordinates, he was resented for becoming a brevet major general at age twenty eight. It was claimed that he spent his time and energy strutting and swaggering instead of looking after his troops. Nicknamed Old Fuss and Feathers, he ran for president in 1852, and later became known as Great Scott. Became a civilian exclamation that punctuated speech during the Gay Nineties.

GREEK TO ME---Not understandable.---"It's all Greek to me."---Shakespeare Julius Caesar. The character Casca, who is among the group conspiring to kill Caesar, tells Brutus and Cassius how Caesar thrice refused the crown of emperor. Asked if Cicero said anything at the time (Cicero did, speaking in Greek to prevent passersby from understanding him), Casca replies: "Those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me." Shakespeare (1603) Caesar "But for my own part it is greek to me."

GREEKS BEARING GIFTS---Beware of someone who wants to do you a kindness for no apparent reason.---"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."---Virgil's story of the Trojan Horse The Greeks who had besieged Troy for a decade, indicated that would withdraw. They offered the people of Troy a large wooden horse as a gesture of peace. Some of the wiser men urged the people to reject it saying "Beware the Greeks, even when they bear gifts." The people excepted the gift and inside it were soldiers who killed the guards and set fire to the city.

GREEN EYED MONSTER---Jealousy.---"Don't let the green eyed monster control you."---Shakespeare Othello "Oh beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on....."

GRIN AND BEAR IT---Make the best of a bad situation.---"I guess we will just have to grin and bear it."

GRIND TO A HALT---Stop laboriously.---"If something isn't done soon, this whole operation will grind to a halt."---As a ship as it runs aground or a machine the stops due to loss of lubrication. Harriet Martineau (1837) Society in America "We went aground grinding, grinding, till the ship trembled in every timber."

GROGGY---Shaky or dizzy, as from lack of sleep; intoxicated.---"I can't get with it this morning, I am a little groggy."---In the 18th century British Admiral Edward Vernon was given the nickname "Old Grog" which identified him with the luxurious grogram coat he wore. At the height of his career, he issued an order that stipulated that every cask of rum must be diluted with water before the rum was rationed. The watered down beverage was given the name of the man who invented it. If you drank too much you were said to be "groggy".

new! GROOPY---A female fan of rock groups or other popular personalities, who follows them about.---"She and her sisters seem to follow him around, I think they are his groupies."

GULLY WASHER---Severe rain storm.---"Let's get to the house this is going to be a gully washer."---A heavy rain fills the gully with runoff water and washes down the gully.

GUNG HO---Enthusiastic; cooperative; overly zealous.---"I think he is getting a little to gung ho."---As Europeans managed to get into China, they were awed by the Great Wall and other public works. These projects were constructed by vast numbers of workers or coolies. At an overseer's signal, they shouted "Gung ho!" in unison in order to synchronize movements. The expression became popular in the west during the construction of the railroad and was adopted by the Marines under General E. Carlson in WWII. The expression which meant "work together" now means "enthusiasm".

new! GUT REACTION---Something you feel intuitively; can not be explained logically, not based in fact.---"My gut reaction is to believe him."---Also "gut feeling".

GYP JOINT---Unethical business place.---"I told him he would get burnt if he kept going to that gyp joint."---Gypsies appeared in England in the early 16th century, and were thought to be from Egypt because of their features, thus the name gypsies. A person swindled by one of these wanderers was gypped (played for a sucker). Their name got attached to any shop or tavern where customers got the short end ot the stick.

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edited by Linda Clark