[Sca-cooks] Gooseberry

Johnna Holloway johnnae at mac.com
Mon Oct 11 16:55:49 PDT 2010


There's also this meaning from OED--

5. A chaperon or one who ‘plays propriety’ with a pair of lovers, esp.  
in to play gooseberry. (Cf. gooseberry-picker in 8.)

1837 J. F. PALMER Devonsh. Gloss., Gubbs, a go-between or gooseberry.  
‘To play gooseberry’ is to give a pretext to two young people to be  
together.
1870 R. BROUGHTON Red as Rose I. 169 Gooseberry I may be..but, at all  
events, I won't be instrumental in making myself so.
1881 W. E. NORRIS Matrim. I. 21 Let the old woman choose between  
playing gooseberry or loitering behind alone.

gooseberry-picker, one who picks gooseberries, colloq. a chaperon (so  
gooseberry-picking vbl. n.)

Google Books is rather fun to search in this regard. Back in 1884 it  
appeared as the following query:
33. — What is the origin of the term "playing gooseberry" ?

We are inclined to consider the expression "playing gooseberry" as  
originally intended for "doing gossiping," that is, acting as a  
gossip, or mutual and confidential friend to the chief parties  
engaged. Another version of the phrase may help to explain. Any third  
person who felt neglected by the exclusive attention of the other two  
to each other would say, " I shall not stay here to play gooseberry,"  
so that the phrase would seem to have originated in the conduct of  
some considerate third, who facilitated the junction of two into one  
by polite inattention, discreet distraction, or the like.

from 1,000 answers to 1,000 questions, a reprint of the first (-sixth)  
1,000 ...  By Titbits

Chambers Idioms terms the phrase as "apparently originally Devonshire  
dialect for 'act as a chaperone', but the derivation is obscure."

Johnna

On Oct 11, 2010, at 6:41 PM, Gretchen Beck wrote:

>
>
> --On Monday, October 11, 2010 4:32 PM -0600 Mem Morman  
> <mem at rialto.org> wrote:
>
>>  So can someone figure out how  "playing gooseberry" (as in acting  
>> as a
>> third party chaperone to a couple) came into use?
>> elaina
>
>
> My guess is that it's an extension of this usage (found in the OED):
>
> 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulg. Tongue (ed. 3) s.v., He played up old  
> gooseberry among them; said of a person who, by force or threats,  
> suddenly puts an end to a riot or disturbance
>
> Not sure where that one came from, though...
>
> toodles, margaret
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