Verb. (common).—1. To hiss; to condemn by hissing. Also to get the
goose or the big bird (q.v.). Among Fr. equivalents are: appeler or
siffler Azor (= to whistle a dog, Azor being a common canine
appellation); boire une goutte (= to be goosed); attrapper; reconduire;
se faire travailler; empoigner; éreinter; polisonner; égayer.
1854. Dickens, Hard Times, ch. vi. He was goosed last night, he was
goosed the night before last, he was goosed to-day.
1858. Dickens, Xmas Stories (Going into Soc.), p. 67 (House. Ed.).
Which makes you grind your teeth at him to his face, and which can
hardly hold you from goosing him audible when he’s going through
his War-Dance.
1873. Hornet, 29 Jan., p. 211, c. 2. Ferdin. Fact! My soul is sick
on’t. Goosed last night; My salary docked.
1875. T. Frost, Circus Life, p. 281. An artiste is goosed, or gets
the goose, when the spectators or auditors testify by sibillant
sounds disapproval or dissatisfaction.
1886. Graphic, 10 Apr., p. 399. To be goosed, or, as it is
sometimes phrased, ‘to get the big bird,’ is occasionally a
compliment to the actor’s power of representing villainy, but more
often is disagreeably suggestive of a failure to please.