goofy goober

English

Etymology

From goofy +‎ goober (“a peanut”). Coined and popularised by the American television series and media franchise SpongeBob SquarePants, in which the noun is ostensibly derived from Goofy Goober, the peanut mascot of a restaurant. Goober, which is also slang for a foolish or amusingly silly person, is thus a pun.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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Noun

goofy goober (plural goofy goobers)

1. (chiefly US, slang, informal) A foolish or amusingly silly person; a goofball; a goober.
   • 2004 September, Marc Cerasini, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (Novelisation), Simon and Schuster, Nickelodeon, →ISBN, page 13:

     SpongeBob and Patrick were both wearing their favorite headgear: peanut-shaped Goofy Goober hats! "I'm a Goofy Goober, yeah!" sang SpongeBob. Patrick sang back, "You're a Goofy Goober, yeah!" Then they put their heads together. "We're all Goofy Goobers, yeah! Goofy, Goofy, Goober, Goober, yeah!"

   • 2004 October, Sean Astin, Joe Layden, There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     My father is a classically trained Shakespearean actor. Yes, he's most famous for starring in The Addams Family and Night Court, for doing the Killer Tomato movies, for being this goofy goober of a guy. And he's good at that sort of thing. But he's a serious man who has given extraordinary and powerful performances.

   • 2017, George Jones, Hearts and Pistols (Paranoria, TX - The Radio Scripts), volume 8, Jericho Co. Productions, →ISBN, pages 168–69:

     You've turned me into the comedy relief of the group. That's all I am to you...and the rest of them... one big joke. Perry's a goofy goober, but we love him anyway. Do you know how that makes me feel?

   • 2019 October, Jani Ojala, Oulunsalo Fiction: The Complete Trilogy, Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 436:

     Y'all two remember the drunk goofy goober who came here to start some shit 'bout a week ago? One with the accent? "You don't exactly forget something like that." Tapani responded in a smartass-y pitch. Not intentionally, but it was there regardless.