gofer en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈɡoʊfɚ/ (US)
Etymology
From go + fer (pronunciation spelling of for), as in “go for coffee” or “go for that document” etc. Possibly also a pun on the rodent gopher, animals known for both their vast tunneling and their hoarding activities.
Meanings
-
(informal) A worker who runs errands; an errand boy.
They were learning to do what in all my years in the music business I never saw — which was women running a record company, women producing concerts, women learning to be engineers, women moving into this absolutely all-male enclave. You never saw a woman in any of those positions, in any of that work except as secretaries and "go-fers".
1989 December 3, Pam Mitchell, Ronnie Gilbert, “Carrying On The Honorable Tradition Of 'Protest Music'”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 21, page 9:More and more people agreed to help with the mailings, the hand-distribution of flyers, and telephonings. Others agreed to be gofers and fetchers.
2001, William Hairston, Passion and Politics:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gofers | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| gopher | alternative | lexicographic | |
| go-fer | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (24)
pdt Schekjbenjel (worker) · fi lähetti (worker) · hu fullajtár (worker) · da fidibus (worker) · no løpegutt (worker) · de Aushilfskraft (worker) · sv springpojke (worker) · fi tsuppari (worker) · da stikirenddreng (worker) · nl manusje-van-alles (worker) · ja パシリ (worker) · nl loopjongen (worker) · no visergutt (worker) · es mandadero (worker) · hu lóti-futi (worker) · cs poskok (worker) · ta அல்லக்கை (worker) · pl chłopiec na posyłki (worker) · fi juoksupoika (worker) · ru ма́льчик на побегушках (worker) · uk хлопчик на побігеньках (worker) · pt moço de recados (worker) · uk хлопчик на побігашках (worker) · mi tonotono (worker)