Goofus
@RichardMeister (5328)
Otis Orchards, Washington
August 15, 2016 3:41pm CST
When I heard the word “goofus” the first thing I thought is it meant someone who is a little off the mark. Someone who is a bit immature.
When I researched the word I found it had nothing to do with a person or people. It actually came from a free-reed, saxophone-like instrument originally called a couesnophone but that was hard to say in English so it was called a queenophone. The name was eventually shortened a “goofus.”
But there was a cartoon title Goofus & Gallant that showed Goofus doing things immaturely while Gallant showed how a more mature person would handle the same situation. So Goofus could have become a name associated with someone who was considered immature.
The fact the “goofus” closely resembles the word “goofy” may also make it sound like a person who is a bit off the mark.
Here’s the song “Goofus”:
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2 people like this
2 responses
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
23 Aug 16
I've never heard that song before!!
I associate goofus with "goof" too . . . but somehow I think of doofus too. Who knew that originated from an instrument - I've never heard of it either! I was thinking maybe it had a funny sound 
.
.1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Aug 16
@RichardMeister It seems it's really hard to recover once the popularity goes down - seems to happen with most musicians that are big for a long time. There will always be fans, but it takes a lot to stay current - especially with sales. Everyone's popularity will peak at some point - it can't last forever.
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
28 Aug 16
@RichardMeister I wonder what made their sales take a slump . . . was their sound just getting "old"? Or maybe newer music and sounds just kept scooting them over to the side. In any case, I guess they did pretty well during their prime.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
26 Aug 16
@much2say That's true. If I remember right they went from 4 x platinum to just platinum which is still pretty good. There are so many Carpenter songs, there for a while I was finding one I didn't know about nearly every day. Richard put out a new CD called 40/40 that was 40 hits the Carpenters did. The other 40 stood for 40 years since their first recording. I believe that was 1969 so the 40/40 must have come out in 2009. I also understand they had 10 hits in a row before their record sales took a slump.
1 person likes this
@suziecat7 (3349)
• Asheville, North Carolina
21 Aug 16
Love the video. It was light-hearted and fun. I have never heard of a goofus before.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
25 Aug 16
The only thing I don't like about the video was it's a bit blurry. I had heard the word goofus before but always thought it meant someone who wasn't very bright.
