Wouldn't say Boo to a goose

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on September 11, 2007

In Reply to: Wouldn't say Boo to a goose posted by Ann Tarrant on September 11, 2007

: 'He wouldn't say Boo to a goose'.

: Derivation of this is currently being discussed on a BBC mb, to no avail. Wiki can't help either.

It's just a country proverb, perfectly clear to anyone who is familiar with geese, as in earlier centuries virtually all rural European people would have been. Anybody who shouts loudly and firmly at geese can intimidate them; indeed minding geese was traditionally a job for small girls. Anybody who doesn't dare say "Boo!" to a goose really is a wimp. (VSD)