play Old Gooseberry

verb

To suddenly put a stop to a disturbance by force or threats.

Similar
play Old Harry
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbplay Old Gooseberry (third-person singular simple present plays Old Gooseberry, present participle playing Old Gooseberry, simple past and past participle played Old Gooseberry)

present singular third person plays Old Gooseberry · participle present playing Old Gooseberry · participle past played Old Gooseberry · past played Old Gooseberry · alternative play up Old Gooseberry

  1. UKarchaicidiomaticTo suddenly put a stop to a disturbance by force or threats.
  2. UKarchaicidiomaticTo play the devil; to make mischief.

    I'll play old Gooseberry with the office, and make you glad to buy me out at a good high figure, if you try any of your tricks with me.

    1843–44, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit

    Synonyms: play Old Harry

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo play the devil; to make mischief.

Similar
play Old Harry
Cite this entry
APA

play Old Gooseberry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20Old%20Gooseberry

MLA

“play Old Gooseberry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20Old%20Gooseberry. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “play Old Gooseberry,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/play%20Old%20Gooseberry.

Source: play Old Gooseberry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.