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gopher
[< Cdn F gaufre gris < F gaufre honeycomb, from the structure of the gopher's burrow]
West
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
1n.
one of several kinds of small ground squirrels.
Quotations
1853
[The prairie] is the favourite home of . . . the gauffres. . . .
1873
On the prairies the little gopher or ground squirrel is almost equally abundant. . . .
1905
A chipmunk, with its bright-striped coat, or a more soberly clad gopher will sometimes dash across the trail or make remarks from the security of a snug retreat.
1958
Besides the Richardson ground squirrel, which is the commonest "gopher" on the Canadian prairies, there are several other species, such as the thirteen-lined, Franklin, Columbian, Parry's and mantled.
1964
[It was] probably a Saturday morning on a return from a gopher hunt in the prairie beyond.
2n. — Slang, Obs.
a member of the North West Mounted Police.
Quotations
1927
. . . the Force objected to their name of "gophers," the gopher being an animal that takes to its hole at the first intimation of peril, and stays there till it is past. . . .