Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A parish cage, or small temporary prison.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word goose-house.

Examples

  • Then the miller said, “We cannot have him here in the mill, for he is so ragged; he is lying in the goose-house.”

    Household Tales 2003

  • Next morning, when the goose-girl came to let out the geese, she heard the Priest bemoaning himself as he lay in the sack in the goose-house.

    The Red Fairy Book 2003

  • So they gave him a mouthful of food outside, and at night, when they went to rest, the two others would not let him have a bed, and at last he was forced to creep into the goose-house, and lie down on a little hard straw.

    Household Tales 2003

  • I’ve nice jobs you could be doing, gathering shells to make a whitewash for our hut within, building up a little goose-house, or stretching a new skin on an old curragh I have, and if my hut is far from all sides, it’s there you’ll meet the wisest old men, I tell you, at the corner of my wheel, and it’s there yourself and me will have great times whispering and hugging….

    Act Two John Millington 1911

  • I've nice jobs you could be doing, gathering shells to make a whitewash for our hut within, building up a little goose-house, or stretching a new skin on an old curragh I have, and if my hut is far from all sides, it's there you'll meet the wisest old men, I tell you, at the corner of my wheel, and it's there yourself and me will have great times whispering and hugging ....

    The Playboy of the Western World; a Comedy in Three Acts 1907

  • At last he flung him into the Governor's goose-house, and the geese began to hiss and peck at him, till he felt more dead than alive.

    Red Fairy Book 1890

  • Next morning, when the goose-girl came to let out the geese, she heard the Priest bemoaning himself as he lay in the sack in the goose-house.

    Red Fairy Book 1890

  • Oh, Boots had just left him down in the goose-house.

    The Wonder Clock 1887

  • When Boots came to the king's castle he laid the councillor down in the goose-house, and then he went to the king.

    The Wonder Clock 1887

  • "Two old geese are sitting on eggs in a goose-house, under the shed, near the barn," Ellen said.

    When Life Was Young At the Old Farm in Maine 1887

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Is this where a wild goose chase starts, or where it ends? Discuss.

    February 19, 2024