English

Noun

gooning (uncountable)

  1. (neologism) A form of legal kidnapping in which troubled teenagers are forcibly transported to boot camps, boarding schools, wilderness therapy, or similar rehabilitation facilities, often conducted by a group of intimidating men ("goons") under cover of darkness.
    • [2016 October 20, Laura Collins-Hughes, “Therapy Becomes Theater in 'Wilderness'”, in The New York Times[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-29:
      Hired by their parents, these people bring them, usually by plane, to the wilderness program. The official name for this is transporting. The slang term is gooning, as in taken by goons.]
    • 2022 September 27, Jim Salter, “Rep. Ro Khanna pushes rules for 'gooning,' taking troubled kids to care”, in The Mercury News[2], San Jose, C.A.: Digital First Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-29:
      Within what's known as the secure transport industry, it's called "gooning." Brawny men show up under the cover of darkness and force a teenager into a vehicle, taking them against their will to a boarding school, foster home or treatment center.
    • 2022 October 9, Rozina Sabur, “Troubled US teenagers 'snatched' at their parents' request”, in The Telegraph[3], London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-29:
      Experiences like his [David Patterson's] have prompted members of the US Congress to scrutinise gooning amid a push for more state regulation over the transporting of minors from their homes to correctional institutions.
  2. (Internet slang) A form of masturbation that involves edging ("maintaining sexual arousal without reaching orgasm") for a long period of time, resulting in a hypnotic, trance-like, state.
    • 2018 July 18, John Sherman, “Why Some Guys Like Jerking Off Together”, in BuzzFeed News[4], archived from the original on 2022-08-18:
      Explanations of "gooning" often reference accessing a primal, implicitly male state of sexual excitement and indulgence, a kind of physical speaking in tongues through masturbation.
    • 2020 November 21, Michael Stahl, “The Psychedelic Science of 'Gooning' — Or Masturbating Into a Trance”, in MEL Magazine[5], archived from the original on 2022-07-03:
      Edging, gooning's close cousin, is a bit more time-consuming and involved, but it comes with the promise of a more powerful and gratifying ejaculation at the end.
    • 2021 September 8, Ian Lecklitner, “Reddit's Quest for the Perfect Fap Drug”, in MEL Magazine[6], archived from the original on 2022-09-24:
      So, if you're in need of a legal, au naturel way of improving your meat-beating, have you considered gooning or mindgasms?
    • 2022 October 3, Lauren Beller, “G is for Gooning”, in Medium[7], archived from the original on 22 December 2022:
      While gooning can be perfectly healthy for those who can exercise self-control and have their sessions in moderation, some aspects of the larger gooning culture can quickly become problematic.
    • 2022 November 20, Michael Moran, “OnlyFans star Angela White tells all about money, 'gooners' and foot fetishists”, in The Daily Star[8], archived from the original on 22 December 2022:
      She adds that the two main quirks she noticed among her OnlyFans followers were "foot fetish stuff" and "gooning".

Related terms

Verb

gooning

  1. present participle and gerund of goon

Further reading

Ojibwe

Etymology

goon +‎ -ing

Noun

gooning

  1. locative of goon