[go bail for]{v. phr.} To advance the necessary money as security in order to release an accused person until trial. •/The arrested driver had no trouble finding someone to go bail for him./

[go begging]{v. phr.} To be not needed or wanted. •/Many old homes in the city go begging./ •/Most of the apples on the market went begging./

[go broke]{v. phr.}, {slang} To lose all one’s money; especially by taking a chance; owe more than you can pay. •/The inventor went broke because nobody would buy his machine./ •/Dan had a quarter but he went broke matching pennies with Fred./

[go-between]{n.} An intermediary. •/They expect Mr. Smith to act as a go-between in the dispute between management and labor./

[go bust]{v. phr.}, {slang} To become bankrupt. •/Our company lost a lot of money and went bust./ Compare: BELLY UP.

[go-by] See: GIVE THE GO-BY.

[go by]{v.} 1. To go or move past; pass. •/Bob had to go by the post office on his way to school, so he mailed the letter./ 2. To follow; copy; obey. •/Mother goes by a pattern when she makes a dress./ •/You will find Main Street without trouble if you go by Father’s directions./ •/If you ride a bicycle, you must go by the rules of the road./ 3. To be known by; be called. •/Many actors do not go by their real names./ •/Fred goes by the nickname of Chubby./ 4. To pass; be over; end. •/Time goes by quickly on vacation./ •/The horse and buggy days have gone by./ •/The flowers have all gone by. What will I do for a bouquet?/ 5. To stop for a short visit; go to someone’s house for a short while. •/"Have you seen Bill lately?" "Yes, I went by his house last week."/ Compare: STOP BY.

[go by the board] also [pass by the board] {v. phr.} To go away or disappear forever, be forgotten or not used. •/Tom had several chances to go to college, but he let them go by the board./ •/Grandfather said he was too old to go to the beach. "Those days have passed by the board," he said./ Compare: DOWN THE DRAIN.

[go by the name of]{v. phr.} To be called. •/Adolf Schicklegruber went by the name of Adolf Hitler./

[go chase oneself]{v. phr.}, {slang} Go away and stop being a nuisance. •/John’s father was busy and told him to go chase himself./ •/The owner of the store told the boys in front to go chase themselves./ Compare: BEAT IT, GO JUMP IN THE LAKE.

[God] See: IN THE LAP OP THE GODS also ON THE KNEES OP THE GODS, MY GOD or MY GOODNESS, WOULD THAT or WOULD GOD.

[God forbid]{interj.} May God prevent (something from happening); I hope that will not happen or is not true. •/Someone told the worried mother that her son might have drowned. She said, "God forbid!"/ •/God forbid that the dam break and flood the valley!/ Compare: PERISH THE THOUGHT.

[Godfrey] See: GREAT GODFREY.

[God knows] or [goodness knows] or [heaven knows] {informal} 1. Maybe God knows but I don’t know and no one else knows. — Often used with "only". •/Do you know where Susan is? God only knows!/ 2. Surely; certainly. •/Goodness knows, the poor man needs the money./ •/Heaven only knows, I have tried hard enough./

[Godmother] See: FAIRY GODMOTHER.

[go down]{v. phr.} 1. To deteriorate in quality. •/This hotel, which used to be one of the best, has gone down during the past few years./ 2. To become lower in price. •/It is said that the price of milk is expected to go down soon./ 3. To sink. •/The Titanic went down with a lot of people aboard./

[go down in history] or [go down in the records] {v. phr.} To be remembered or recorded for always. •/The lives of great men go down in history./ •/Babe Ruth went down in history as a home run hitter./ •/The boy’s straight A’s for four years of college went down in the records./ •/The President said that the day the war ended would go down in history./

[go down the drain]{v. phr.} To be lost or wasted forever. •/If he doesn’t pass the bar examination tomorrow, his best efforts to become a lawyer will go down the drain./

[God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb]{literary} A person who is already helpless will not have more trouble; you will not have more trouble than you can bear. •/After Mr. Smith lost his job, the Smith’s house caught fire, but the fire was put out before much harm was done. Mr. Smith said, "God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb."/ Contrast: IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS.

[go Dutch]{v. phr.}, {informal} To go out for fun together but have each person pay for himself. •/High school students often go Dutch to basketball games./ •/Sometimes boys and girls go Dutch on dates./ •/The girl knew her boyfriend had little money, so she offered to go Dutch./ Compare: DUTCH TREAT.

[go easy] See: TAKE IT EASY(1).

[go fly a kite]{v. phr.}, {slang} To go away; leave. Usually used as a command, to show that you do not accept someone’s ideas. •/Harry was tired of John’s advice and told him to go fly a kite./ •/After Mary stood around telling Sue what was wrong with her dress. Sue told her to go fly a kite./ Compare: DROP DEAD, GO JUMP IN THE LAKE.

[go for]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To try to get; aim for; try for. •/Our team is going for the championship in the game tonight./ •/The dog went for Bob’s leg./ 2. To favor; support; like. •/Little Susie really goes for ice cream./ •/Bob goes for Jane in a big way./ 3. To attack; begin to fight or argue with. •/The Indian jumped out of the *hush and went for Daniel./ •/Molly went for James about being late as soon as he got home./

[go for a spin]{v. phr.} To go for a ride in a car. •/Billy has invited us to go for a spin in his new car./

[go for broke]{v. phr.}, {slang} To risk everything on one big effort; use all your energy and skill; try as hard as possible. •/The racing car driver decided to go for broke in the biggest race of the year./ Compare: ALL-OUT.

[go for nothing] also {formal} [go for naught] {v. phr.} To count for nothing; be useless; be wasted. •/What the teacher said went for nothing because the pupils did not pay attention./ •/I hope that all your good work doesn’t go for naught./ Compare: IN VAIN.

[go from bad to worse]{adv. phr.} To change from a bad position or condition to a worse one; become worse. •/Dick’s typing went from bad to worse when he was tired./ •/Jack’s conduct in school has gone from bad to worse./ Compare: OUT OF THE PRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE.

[go from strength to strength]{v. phr.} To move forward, increasing one’s fame, power, or fortune in a series of successful achievements. •/Our basketball team has gone from strength to strength./

[go-getter]{n.} A person who works hard to become successful; an active, ambitious person who usually gets what he wants. •/The governor of the state has always been a go-getter./ •/The best salesmen are the go-getters./

[go-go]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. Vigorous youthful, unusually active. •/Joe is a go-go kind of guy./ 2. Of a discotheque or the music or dances performed there. 3a. Unrestrained. 3b. Very up-to-date, hip. •/Mary wore handsome go-go boots to the discotheque last night./