Play the giddy goat In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "Play the giddy goat", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

author Helen Nguyen calendar 2020-12-20 02:12

Meaning of Play the giddy goat

Play the giddy goat British informal verb phrase

You can use "act" instead of "play" without changing the meaning.

To behave in a foolish or playful way, often to entertain others.

Sam usually plays the giddy goat, so difficult people don't like him much.

Comedians normally play the giddy goat to make audiences laugh.

Stop acting the giddy goat, you make me feel uncomfortable.

Other phrases about:

bojangling

Used when someone is acting silly or stupid in order to avoid doing something or completing a task

Grammar and Usage of Play the giddy goat

Verb Forms

  • plays the giddy goat
  • played the giddy goat
  • to play the giddy goat

The verb "play" should be conjugated according its tense

Origin of Play the giddy goat

This phrase wasn't made at the beginning but was built up from individual earlier phrases
(Image Source: Internet)

The phrase 'play the giddy goat' (or "act the giddy goat') wasn't made at the beginning but was built up from individual earlier phrases. 'Giddy' has been used to mean foolish or stupid since the first millennium and has been applied as an adjective to all sorts of creatures. Prominent amongst these was the ox and there are several citations of 'play (or act) the giddy ox' which pre-date the 'giddy goat' variant; for example, the British comic Ally Sloper's Half-Holiday used the phrase in a March 1892 edition:

"Fanny Robinson was flighty; she played the giddy ox - I mean, heifer." 

The Origin Cited: phrases.org.uk .
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