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hebrew and yiddish term for a non-jewish person; synonymous with “gentile.” usually neutral, despite persistent untrue rumors that it is derogatory. it should only be considered offensive when it is used in a context indicating that it’s intended as an insult, or said in a tone of disgust- much like the word “jew.” plural, “goyim”; adjective forms “goyish,” “goyishe,” “goyisher.”
shoshana married a goy.
1. a hebrew word used in the jewish scriptures (a.k.a. the old testament). the word means “nation,” and is always used within these scriptures to refer to the nations of the world. significantly, within the old testament, judah (the jewish nation) itself is called a “goy.”
2. in the old testament, the jews were called to be a nation separate from the other nations, which were all pagan. and so, colloquially, all non-jewish nations came to be called “goyim” as in “the nations” from which the g-d of the old testament had called upon the jews to separate themselves.
3. a word used by some jews to refer to gentiles (non-jews). the word can have derogatory connotations, such as the word “black” when used to refer to a persons of african descent. it can be neutral or negative depending on the context and the intent of the speaker.

plural – goyim.
1. “gather together, gather together o shameful goy” – zephaniah 2:1 (referring to the jewish nation)
2. jews don’t eat pork, goyim eat pork.
get over your self
you are not all that g.o.y.s
go off yourself. a nice alternative to g.f.y. , also slightly more offensive.
hey buddy, i have a great idea, g.o.y.!
goy; plural: goyim; adjective: goyisha or goyish (goy-um, goyz, goy-ish-uh, goy-ish)

1. a non-jew (non-jews, not jewish).
2. someone resembling non-jews as jews have typically perceived them; therefore someone who is stupid, insensitive or violent (although the word is usually used today in a light, joking way).

the distinction between jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, however, as the following from lenny bruce ill-strates:

“i’m jewish. count basie’s jewish. ray charles is jewish. eddie cantor’s goyish. the b’nai brith is goyish. the had-ssah is jewish. marine corps – heavy goyish, dangerous.

kool-aid is goyish. all drake’s cakes are goyish. pumpernickel is jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. macaroons are very jewish. fruit salad is jewish. lime jell-o is goyish. lime soda is very goyish. trailer parks are so goyish that jews won’t go near them.

b-lls are goyish. t-tties are jewish. mouths are jewish. all italians are jewish. greeks are goyish. eugene o’neill – jewish. dylan thomas – jewish. steve allen is goyish, though. it’s the hair. he combs his hair in the boys’ room with that soap all the time.

see how easy it is? fidel castro? jewish, of course. henry kissinger – goyish. marlon brando – jewish. ringo is jewish. paul is goyish. george is goyish. john, of course, was jewish.

talk is jewish. silence is goyish. thin is goyish. fat is jewish. blue is jewish. green is goyish. atheism is jewish. converting to christianity is, of course, goyish. but as r. crumb points out, so is converting to judaism. in fact, it’s such a goyish thing, no jew has ever done it.

computers are jewish. rifles are goyish. california is goyish. france is jewish. the thirties were jewish. the forties were goyish. the fifties were goyish. the sixties were jewish. the seventies were goyish. the eighties are off to an intensely goyisha start.

teddy kennedy is jewish. ronald reagan is goyish. nancy reagan is the most goyisha person who has ever lived. marie osmond is second. tricia nixon is third. david eisenhower is like a broad caricature of a goy. richard nixon, however, is too much of an open maniac to be a goy.

ok, now you try it. one of the items in each pair listed below is jewish, and the other one is goyish. can you tell which is which?

bowling alleys/constant guilt
spam/chicken soup
crew cuts/big, dark almond-shaped eyes
jumping out of planes/double-entry bookkeeping
respecting your scoutmaster/believing you’re jesus christ

goyim is the more common plural, and is always use when speaking generally: what can you expect from goyim?

goys is used to refer to particular people. a couple of goys.

one of the oldest problems puzzled over in the talmud is “why did g-d create goyim?” the generally accepted answer is “somebody has to buy retail.”

– from every goy’s guide to common jewish expression (also recommended for jews who don’t know their punim from their pupik) by arthur naiman
goy george w bush ii
a white group of boys who act gangster
those goys are such try hards
a gentile. person that is not jewish
momy , what is a goy ? albert, a goy would spend more money on ‘body art’ than books, it would rather watch football than study , it would give its child a happy meal. and they play sport even as adults.they shop at iceland a lot , they often get drunk. go figure.

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