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{{One source|date=September 2023}}
{{about|jobs that include running errands|the animal|Gopher (animal)|other uses|Gofer (disambiguation)|and|Gopher (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Type of personal servant}}
{{Notability|date=January 2011}}
{{about|jobs that include running errands|the animal|Gopher|other uses|Gofer (disambiguation)|and|Gopher (disambiguation)}}A '''gofer''', '''go-fer''' or '''gopher''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|f|ər}} is an [[employee]] who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, andor a car. Outside of the business world, the term is used to describe a child or young adult who is learning how to do tasks and is sent to fetch items. A similar job is that of [[wikt:peon (slang)#English|peon]] in [[Commonwealth countries]].{{cn|date=January 2018}}
{{wiktionary}}
 
A '''gofer''', '''go-fer''' or '''gopher''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|f|ər}} is an [[employee]] who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tailored suit, and a car. Outside of the business world, the term is used to describe a child or young adult who is learning how to do tasks and is sent to fetch items. A similar job is that of [[peon (slang)|peon]] in [[Commonwealth countries]].{{cn|date=January 2018}}
Likewise ''goferGofer'' may also refer to a junior member of an organisation who generally receive the most vexing and thankless work. Law firms with a top-heavy management structure, having not enough junior lawyers to take care of menial yet necessary tasks, can be referred to as having "too many [[slackers|loafers]] and not enough ''gophers''".<ref>{{cite book|title=Stage Manager: The Professional Experience|author=Larry Fazio|year= 2000|publisher=Focal Press|isbn=0-240-80336-1|page=310}}</ref>
 
==Etymology==
Gofer isderives afrom linguistic“go simplificationfor” ofand thetypifies twoa wordsboss’s gooften +impromptu fororder =to gofor.an Simplifiedunderling, inusually English,a itmenial meansone, go for this orto go forand that.fetch Goforsomething, reflectsfrequently theof likelihooda ofpersonal instructionsnature, to ''gosuch for''as coffee, [[dry cleaning|dry-cleaned garments]], or [[postage stamps|stamps]], or to make other straightforward, familiar or unfamiliar [[procurement]]s. The term ''gofer'' originated in [[North America]].{{cn|date=September 2023}}
 
==Career opportunities==
Likewise ''gofer'' may refer to a junior member of an organisation who generally receive the most vexing and thankless work. Law firms with a top-heavy management structure, having not enough junior lawyers to take care of menial yet necessary tasks, can be referred to as having "too many [[slackers|loafers]] and not enough ''gophers''".<ref>{{cite book|title=Stage Manager: The Professional Experience|author=Larry Fazio|year= 2000|publisher=Focal Press|isbn=0-240-80336-1|page=310}}</ref>
 
==In popular culture==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}}
 
In the 1953 movie ''[[She's Back on Broadway]]'', at about the 11 minute mark, the word is used backstage at a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway show]], with a clear explanation.
 
In the first season (1976) of the television series ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', [[Scooter (Muppet)|Scooter]] was given the stage manager job because his uncle owned the theater where the [[The Muppets|Muppets]] performed. The [[pun]] was that a [[gopher]] not only is an animal, like the Muppets supposedly are, but is a fast animal, collecting food and delivering it somewhere else. At some point in the Muppets series, [[Kermit the Frog]] suggested that he himself was a gofer, but probably didn't last long in the job.
 
In the [[Boy Meets World (season 4)|fourth]] season of ''[[Boy Meets World]]'', [[Cory Matthews|Corey]] gets a job as a gofer for two shady businessmen ([[Buddy Hackett]] and [[Soupy Sales]]).
 
Another example of a gofer is the fictional character of [[Turtle (Entourage)|Salvatore "Turtle" Assante]] ([[Jerry Ferrara]]) on the [[comedy-drama]] [[HBO]] television series ''[[Entourage (American TV series)|Entourage]]''.
 
[[Chavo Guerrero]] was considered to be a gofer for his aunt [[Vickie Guerrero]] on [[WWE]]'s ''[[SmackDown (WWE brand)|SmackDown]]'' for most of 2008 (Vickie was ''SmackDown's'' General Manager at the time) when they were both part of the [[Heel (professional wrestling)|villainous]] [[La Familia (professional wrestling)|La Familia]] stable. This would become a sporadic running joke on WWE programming as other superstars would mock Chavo for this reason.
 
The 2008 film ''[[WALL-E]]'' features a robotic gofer (named GO-4, a pun on gofer), who is the henchman of the villainous [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] autopilot AUTO.
In the 2011 film ''[[My Week with Marilyn]]'', the protagonist, [[Colin Clark (filmmaker)|Colink Clark]], is the third assistant director but describes himself as "a gofer, really. Go for this, go for that."
 
[[Brad Pitt]]'s character Cliff Booth is a gofer for Rick Dalton ([[Leonardo DiCaprio]]) in the 2019 movie ''[[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood]]''.
In the ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' episode "Alex the Gofer", Alex takes a part-time job as an assistant to Broadway producers.
 
In the TV series ''[[Entourage (American TV series)|Entourage]]'', the character [[Turtle (Entourage)|Salvatore "Turtle" Assante]], is gofer to movie star [[Vincent Chase]].
The term gofer is used in the anime ''[[Zombie-Loan]]''.
 
In [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]: [[The JoJoLands]], the main character, Jodio Joestar, is a gofer and gangster for the state's underground drug trade.
[[Brad Pitt]]'s character Cliff Booth is a gofer for Rick Dalton ([[Leonardo DiCaprio]]) in the 2019 movie ''[[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood]]''.
 
==References==
{{wiktionary}}
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Employment classifications]]
[[Category:Office work]]
 
 
{{Job-stub}}