loosey-goosey

[ loo-see-goo-see ]

adjective

, Slang.

1. relaxed; calm; unperturbed:

   Despite the pressure, he was loosey-goosey throughout the game.

Word History and Origins

Origin of loosey-goosey¹

1965–70; rhyming compound (with -y ¹ ) based on the idiom loose as a goose

Example Sentences

Harvey testified that Skaggs asked him for pills in June 2019 because he wanted to feel “loosey-goosey” before a start and said Skaggs told him he once crushed an oxycodone pill and snorted it on a toilet paper dispenser in the Angels’ clubhouse.

From Los Angeles Times

Flanked by his sons Lukas and Micah, here he complemented the expected oldies — “Whiskey River,” “You Were Always on My Mind,” “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” — with a cover of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” and welcomed Ernest, Jelly Roll and Charley Crockett to the stage for a loosey-goosey take on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”

From Los Angeles Times

Ryan Gosling is having a bit of a moment — he may not have won the Oscar for best supporting actor, but he won the Oscars telecast for his performance of “I’m Just Ken” — and those who prefer the intense actor in his loosey-goosey comic mode would be wise to check out this 2016 comedy-mystery.

From New York Times

“If you do the loosey-goosey kind of interpretation and implementation, then you open us up as a state and a nation for all of us being vulnerable simply because we have an opinion and a point of view,” Weber said.

From Los Angeles Times

Given the stark lack of vehicles, all of the loosey-goosey guesswork integral to this industry suddenly has much less room for error.

From Slate