loosey-goosey

See also: loosey goosey

English

Alternative forms

• loosey goosey
• loosy-goosy

Adjective

loosey-goosey (comparative more loosey-goosey or loosier-goosier or loosey-goosier, superlative most loosey-goosey or loosiest-goosiest or loosey-goosiest)

1. (sports, originally baseball, Canada, US) relaxed [from 1940s]
   • 1946 July 8, “By Jim Coleman”, in The Globe and Mail:

     They said that he couldn't hit International League pitching because he was too loosey-goosey at the plate.

   • 1955, Trent Frayne, “Why Big-League Goalies CRACK Up”, in Maclean's‎^[1], archived from the original on 9 April 2022:

     “All these other guys are scared to death,” the pinch-hitter kept telling himself as he walked towards the plate, “I’m loosey-goosey, I’m loosey-goosey, I’m loosey-goosey.”

2. (by extension, informal) laid back; disorganized; scattered
   • 1991, Richard Perez-Pena, “Investment Manager Faces Charges of Securities Fraud”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     "Everything seemed to be real loosey-goosey," Mr. Williams said. " […] I had lunch with him three times, and each time he said, 'Oh, I forgot to bring the papers.'"

   • 2004, Denis Wood, Five Billion Years of Global Change:

     I find the description wonderfully familiar, less the droogish quality, than the loosey-goosey opportunism.