- Meaning
- This idiom means to ruin someone’s plans, prospects, or reputation, as if cooking their goose to end their chances. It conveys decisive defeat or sabotage, often used in competitive, personal, or professional contexts to depict thwarting someone. The phrase carries a tone of finality, malice, or triumph, reflecting cultural values of rivalry and the human tendency to undermine opponents. Its culinary imagery evokes a fatal preparation, resonating in scenarios like betrayals or setbacks. The idiom signals destruction, making it a dramatic metaphor for ruining someone’s hopes.
- Origin
- The phrase likely originated in 16th-century England, tied to a legend about a town hanging a goose to taunt attackers, who then ‘cooked’ it by burning the town, as noted in chronicles. Its metaphorical use emerged in the 19th century, with *The Times* (1851) using it for political downfalls. The idiom gained traction in Victorian literature, notably in Charles Dickens’ *A Christmas Carol* (1843). Its adoption across English-speaking cultures stems from its vivid imagery and applicability to sabotage, especially in the U.K. and U.S.
- Variants
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- Cook their goose
- Goose is cooked
- Cooked his goose
- Examples
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- She cooked his goose by exposing his lies to the board.
- Cook their goose, they did, sabotaging the rival’s campaign.
- His goose is cooked now that the evidence is out.
- Cooked her goose, he leaked the confidential plan.
- They cooked the competitor’s goose with a better product launch.
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