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Glite Dictionary
to play Old Gooseberry

to play Old Gooseberry

9.9
To get involved in other people's arguments or problems
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : meterse en lo que no le importa
  • Whenever there was an argument, he would play Old Gooseberry and make things worse.

Examples

  • She warned her sister not to play Old Gooseberry in their family's business.

  • It is unwise to play Old Gooseberry between friends, as it can lead to resentment.

  • Don't play Old Gooseberry in my business!

  • She always plays Old Gooseberry with her friends' relationships.

  • It's best not to play Old Gooseberry when your friends are having a disagreement.

  • He tends to play Old Gooseberry whenever his siblings have conflicts, making the situation tense.

  • She would often play Old Gooseberry during family discussions, stirring up more trouble than necessary.

Synonyms

to meddle
vsto play Old Gooseberry
80 5.7

To get involved in other people's business and annoy them

is general involvement that does not stress annoyance or intent
to stick one's nose into
vsto play Old Gooseberry
  • UK
1 7.9

To get involved in other people's business without being asked

is general involvement that may not be clearly unasked or obvious
to stick one's oar in
vsto play Old Gooseberry
  • Informal
8.6

To get involved in other people's business when they do not ask for help

is broader interference without implying it is unnecessary

Antonyms

to mind one's own business
  • Informal
51 3.7

Stay out of other people's private matters and focus on your own

How Meddlesome

to play Old Gooseberry
  • Archaic
9.9
to poke one's nose into
  • Informal
1 7.3

Surface Forms

play Old Gooseberry infinitive
played Old Gooseberry past
played Old Gooseberry past participle
playing Old Gooseberry present participle
plays Old Gooseberry third person singular

Morphology

play + old + Gooseberry

The meaning 'to meddle or interfere' cannot be derived from the literal words 'play' (act), 'old' (age/affection) and 'gooseberry' (a fruit). This is a dialectal idiom (related to 'play gooseberry' meaning to act as a third wheel/chaperone) whose sense is metaphorical and conventionalized, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not predict the meaning.

Etymology

Play Old Gooseberry comes from an old idea that a gooseberry was a person who stayed with a couple and spoiled their private talk. So to play Old Gooseberry means to get between people and interfere, or 'to meddle'.