gopher

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The student union on the campus of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is supposed to look like a gopher, the school's mascot.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun Any of various short-tailed, burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae of North America, having fur-lined external cheek pouches. Also called pocket gopher.
  2. noun Any of various ground squirrels of the genus Citellus of North American prairies.
  3. noun Any of several burrowing tortoises of the genus Gopherus, especially G. polyphemus of the southeast United States.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Only staffer they could afford to use as a gopher, they didn't have to pay me. —  Analog May, 1971
  • One thing I've always been amused by is the way that, nearly two years later, this post has become AE's zombie thread, with the occasional Hovindite still popping up like a gopher after finding the thing via Google, and posting some petulant comment about how we're mean and evil and a bunch of heartless bullies and they hope we find the grace of Jebus in our hearts and all that. —  The Atheist Experience
  • Colletti chased Jason Schmidt when other teams had concerns on his declining velocity; he has used every chance possible to get Ramon Martinez playing time in Dodger Blue; he has made Dodger fans suffer through the gopher-ball pitching of Brett Tomko; and he insists upon employing "pinch-hitting specialist" Mark Sweeney despite his microscopic batting average and no power. —  Sons of Steve Garvey
  • He comes across as a gopher, not someone who would come up with a steroid scheme: —  Baseball Musings
  • Hopefully the lefties can recognize and take advantage; his command of it does appear to be somewhat lacking relative to his other pitches which may in fact be the reason for the gopher ball problems for this pitch. —  South Side Sox
 

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably short for earlier megopher, gopher tortoise, of unknown origin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. A partly phonetic spelling (properly gofer, as in another sense: see gofer) of French gaufre, a gopher, a name applied among the French settlers in America to any small burrowing animal, so called from its honeycombing the earth, being a particular use of gaufre, a honeycomb, a waffle, formerly gauffre, goffre, later English gauffer, goffer, crimp, etc.: see goffer, and wafer, waffle.
  2. from gopher, n.
 

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/ˈgoʊfər/
by American Heritage

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