darcy@sh.itjust.works to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world · 1 year agoWhy do Americans answer the phone with "Gopher"?message-squaremessage-square38fedilinkarrow-up118arrow-down15file-text
arrow-up113arrow-down1message-squareWhy do Americans answer the phone with "Gopher"?darcy@sh.itjust.works to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world · 1 year agomessage-square38fedilinkfile-text
minus-squarePutangInaMo@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up9arrow-down1·edit-21 year agoI’m American and I’ve never heard this used. But after thinking about it, gopher is a play on words that means “go for”. So saying gopher John is like saying “go for John” and can be a greeting.
minus-squarethrawn@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up9·1 year ago“Go for X” was somewhat common, including in media. I think OP was mishearing that. There’s virtually no way to differentiate between “gopher” and a rushed, casual “go for” in speech.
minus-squareGranite@kbin.sociallinkfedilinkarrow-up1·1 year agoI’ve only ever used this on a movie set radio. It’s real but limited in its uses.
I’m American and I’ve never heard this used.
But after thinking about it, gopher is a play on words that means “go for”. So saying gopher John is like saying “go for John” and can be a greeting.
“Go for X” was somewhat common, including in media. I think OP was mishearing that. There’s virtually no way to differentiate between “gopher” and a rushed, casual “go for” in speech.
I’ve only ever used this on a movie set radio. It’s real but limited in its uses.