gooseberry

plural gooseberries

1. A fruit of species Ribes uva-crispa, related to the currant.

   We had a good haul of gooseberries from our bushes this year.

   Synonyms: goosegog

2. Any other plant or fruit in the subgenus Grossularia, distinguished from currants by bearing spines, including Ribes hirtellum (American gooseberry).
3. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
   1. Chinese gooseberry or kiwifruit, the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa and hybrids between this and others in the genus Actinidia
   2. Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica), emblic, amla.
   3. Ceylon gooseberry, a species of Dovyalis native to Sri Lanka and southern India
   4. Barbados gooseberry (Pereskia aculeata), an unusual cactus
   5. Long Key locustberry or shiny locustberry (Byrsonima lucida)
   6. Jamaican gooseberry tree (Phyllanthus acuminatus), a herb-like plant
   7. Otaheite gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus)
   8. Katuk (Sauropus androgynus), a shrub grown in some tropical regions as a leaf vegetable
   9. Physalis angulata, also called balloon cherry and cutleaf groundcherry
   10. Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana), indigenous to South America
   11. poison gooseberry (Withania somnifera)
4. BritishdatedslangA chaperone.
5. UKAn additional person who is neither necessary nor wanted in a given situation.

   Robert and Susan were so in love with each other that nobody could go near them without feeling like a gooseberry.

   2 more examples

   "But," said Philippa dolefully, "if I go I'll have to be gooseberry, and that will be a new experience for Philippa Gordon."

   1915, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “In the Park”, in Anne of the Island, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, →OCLC

   Kryten, you are a total gooseberry. Next time I play on the AR machine I'm going to give you some money and send you to the pictures.

   1993 October 21, Rob Grant, Doug Naylor, Gunmen of the Apocalypse (Red Dwarf), season 6, episode 3, spoken by Dave Lister (Craig Charles)

   Synonyms: third wheel, fifth wheel

6. BritishdatedslangA fool.

   Synonyms: alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither

7. BritishdatedslangA fantastic story; a tall tale; a hoax.
8. Britishdatedplural normallyslangvulgarA testicle.

   Synonyms: testicles, testes, acorns, agates, apples, apricots, bags, ballocks