Origin of the word Gouge

av8tr1

av8tr1

"Never tell me the odds!"
I was having a chat with a buddy and the term Gouge came up. We were both wondering how that came to mean "info about something"? Anyone know the origin of how pilots came to use this term when talking about interview or check ride experience?
 
It is an old term widely used in the military flying community, both Navy and USAF.

I'm guessing that the military folks brought the term with them to the airlines way back when.

I will use this opportunity to repeat the public service announcement about the word: "gouge" is both the singular and plural form. Despite what you might read on WFFF or aviationinterviews.com, there is no such thing as "gouges" when referencing multiple pieces of gouge.
 
Is it like "fish" where multiple goldfish are fish, but all the fish in the fish store are fishes?
 
I first heard "gouge" used in the surface Navy in a non-aviation context before I started flying. It was not only the bare minimum "stuff" you needed to know to pass your qualification boards / oral exams / ass raping, etc. It also included the bonus, lets stump the applicant and show him how little he really knows bonus questions asked by specific interview board members, as every qualification board / oral exam was uniquely tailored for each person that was going up for qualification.
 
Ok maybe I should have used better wording.

Why the word "gouge"?

Gouge
: a metal tool with a curved, sharp end that is used to cut and shape wood
: a deep cut or hole
 
Bob Villa and Norm created the term after Norm cut a finger off. "Before you rip that plank, here's a gouge, don't cut your finger off like Norm did."
 
av8tr1 said:
I was having a chat with a buddy and the term Gouge came up. We were both wondering how that came to mean "info about something"? Anyone know the origin of how pilots came to use this term when talking about interview or check ride experience?
Click to expand...
It's a verb describing what will happen to you if you don't know the material contained in the noun form of the word.
 
av8tr1 said:
I was having a chat with a buddy and the term Gouge came up. We were both wondering how that came to mean "info about something"? Anyone know the origin of how pilots came to use this term when talking about interview or check ride experience?
Click to expand...

I created the term. I did so immediately after my first holiday season with the mother in law. I needed a word to sufficiently describe my urge to shove something sharp into my own eyes. Gouge seemed suitable. :)
 
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