goofy goober

English

Etymology

From goofy +‎ goober (“a peanut”). Coined and popularised by the American television series and media franchise SpongeBob SquarePants, particularly the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 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): (file)

Noun

goofy goober (plural goofy goobers)

(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.