English

Verb

play gooseberry ‎(third-person singular simple present plays gooseberry, present participle playing gooseberry, simple past and past participle played gooseberry)

1. (idiomatic, dated, British slang) to be an unwanted third party accompanying two lovers, to serve as a chaperon

Synonyms

• do gooseberry

Translations

References

• Barrère, Albert; Leland, Charles Godfrey (1889) A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant, volume 1, page 419
• Farmer, John Stephen (1893) Slang and Its Analogues, volume 3, page 183