goner

English

Alternative forms

• gonner

Etymology

From gone +‎ -er. First attestations around 1850.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: gänʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒnə(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: gônʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈɡɔːnɚ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒnə(ɹ), -ɔːnə(ɹ)

Noun

goner (plural goners)

1. (informal) Someone (or something) doomed; a hopeless case, especially someone who is bound to die soon.

   I'm a goner if this plan doesn't work.

   You'll be a goner if I hit you with this gun.

   • 2001, Jamie O’Neill, At Swim, Two Boys‎^[1], London: Scribner, Part 2, Chapter 20, p. 620:

     The sergeant was a goner. There was only one way to save him, and he threw himself on top, hurling the man to the ground.

   • 2007 November 1, Jeff Goodell, “James Lovelock, the Prophet”, in Rolling Stone‎^[2]:

     Retreat, in his view, means it’s […] about making plans for the migration of millions of people from low-lying regions like Bangladesh into Europe; about admitting that New Orleans is a goner and moving the people to cities better positioned for the future.

2. (baseball slang) A ball hit out of the playing area for a home run.

Translations

someone doomed, a hopeless case

• Catalan: mort (ca) m
• French: homme mort (fr) m
• German: hoffnungsloser Fall m, Todgeweihter m, Verlorener m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἔχω ᾰ̓πορῐ́ᾱς (ékhō aporíās, literally “to have problems”) (verb phrase meaning "to be a goner")

• Italian: spacciato (it) m
• Latin: mortuus (la) (literally “dead one”)
• Portuguese: perdido (pt) m
• Russian: ко́нченый (ru) (kónčenyj) челове́к (ru) (čelovék), пропа́щий (ru) (propáščij) челове́к (ru) (čelovék)
• Spanish: hombre muerto m, piltrafa (es) f

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “goner n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• Egnor, Goren, Groen, Negro, Norge, Ogren, Rengo, Rogen, ergon, genro, grone, negro, ornge, reong

Middle English

Noun

goner

1. Alternative form of gunner