Get Your Goat – Meaning, Origin and Usage

The phrase 'get your goat' is a common saying in the English language, though it can often confuse non-native speakers or people who have just never heard the phrase before. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and common use of 'get your goat'.

Meaning

The phrase 'get your goat' is a common figurative saying in the English language.

When someone uses the phrase 'get your goat' is a figurative way to mean that something that has happened (or something that has been done or said) has irritated someone else.

The phrase 'get your goat' can be used as a statement, or it can be said as a response to something.

When someone 'gets your goat' it means that they have said or done something that irritates you.

The phrase can also be used in the negative form as 'not getting your goat' to imply the opposite meaning of the saying.

The saying 'get your goat' is mostly used in an informal context, though can have either humorous or serious implications when it is used.

Someone can apply the phrase 'get your goat' to any situation or event that has been irritating to the person saying it.

The context of what 'gets someone's goat' is usually either specified in the discussion or said by the speaker.

Example Usage

“I just don't like to have any pineapple mixed around with what should be cheese. It really gets my goat when people do that and accept someone else to pretend that they enjoy it.”

“I left the house because my mother was getting my goat all the time. The wi-fi was horrible, the food was worse, and it was like I was staying at an AirBnb where you're not allowed to sneeze or bring any girls to.

“Something about the way that chess player was smiling this morning was just getting my goat, and today I know why: he was cheating and nobody could tell.”

“I don't have any proper coffee in the house. If there's one thing that really gets my goat, then I'd have to say it's that.”

Origin

According to most online language resources, the origin of the phrase 'get your goat' is difficult to trace and the phrase appears to have entered popular use sometime around the early-1900s.

A possible given origin for the phrase 'get your goat' is that it comes from horse racing, which was a popular pastime around the origin of the phrase.

Horses who were being prepared for competition were supposedly put in with a goat the night before the race, with the goat having a calming effect on the horse (which it was believed, would help the horse to perform better).

If something were to 'get the goat' away from the horse during the night, the horse would be more irritated the next day.

The phrase is listed on Urban Dictionary as 'got your goat' from 2008, though early use is apparent long before this.

Phrases Similar to Get Your Goat

  • Take the piss
  • Take the mickey
  • Are you kidding me?

Phrases Opposite to Get Your Goat

  • N/a

What is the Correct Saying?

  • Get your goat
  • Getting your goat

Ways People May Say Get Your Goat Incorrectly

There are several ways in which someone can use the expression 'get your goat' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the phrase.

If the phrase is taken as literal, the figurative phrase can be confusing and the meaning of what has been said could make no sense to the audience.

The phrase is not generally used as 'goats', even when multiple situations are referred to by the speaker.

Acceptable Ways to Phrase Get Your Goat

The correct way to use the phrase 'get your goat' is to use the saying to imply that somethng has been inconvenient or irritating to the speaker.

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