# Goat Lore



## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

I thought it would interesting to see how many words, phrases or stories in use today pertain to goats. Here's a common one.

*Scapegoat*:
Websters Definition
1: a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur
2: one that bears the blame for others 
3: one that is the object of irrational hostility


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*The curse of the Billy Goat*

If you are a baseball fan you may have heard of this one. "The Curse of the Billy Goat" refers to a legend commonly cited to explain why the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team has not been to the World Series since 1945. According to legend, the owner of "Billy Goat Tavern" was in the habit of taking his buck goat to the ball games. It allegedly stunk so bad it bothered the neighboring fans and they had to ask him to leave the ball field. Furious that they made him leave, he reportedly cursed the Cubs saying they wouldn't win anymore. They haven't made it to the world series since.

There have been several episodes of people bringing goats to the ball field in an attempt to break the curse but it still holds.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Norse mythology*

In Norse mythology, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjstr are a pair of magic goats which draw the flying chariot of the god Thor. Thor is able to eat the goats, and by placing the bones and skin together, is able to return them to life with the aid of his hammer Mjolnir the following day. At night when he sets up camp, Thor eats the meat of the goats, but takes care that all the bones remain whole. Then he wraps the remains up, and in the morning, the goats always come back to life to pull the chariot. When a farmer is invited to share the meal he breaks one of the goats' leg bones to suck the marrow. This causes the animal's leg to remain broken when it comes back to life in the morning. This results in Thor forcing him to serve as a servant to compensate for the damage.


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## SarahJean (Apr 30, 2009)

having a black goat cross your path is a sign of good fortune


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Bell Wether*

*Bell Wether*
Early sheep herders used a wether to help lead the flock. It often wore a bell to help the herder keep track of where they were, hence the term "bell wether".

The modern day use of the word "Bellwether" applies to anything in a given area that tends to create or influence trends.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Get your goat*

"That'll get your goat" and "don't let them get your goat" were two common ways of saying that something made you mad or upset. The origins are somewhat sketchy but it appears that in the late 1800's or early 1900's the word "goat" was slang for getting mad. I guess the aggrivating antics of the fun loving goat are nothing new...

Another common origin for the saying is said to come from the horse racing community where goats were often kept with thorough bred race horses for companion animals while traveling. The competition would try to steal the goat away from a race horse so that it would be upset and fretting the morning of the race and hopefully not run nearly as well as it would have otherwise.

What ever the origin, it is still a colorful use of the word "goat".


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

The race horse story is true and still is used to calm horses when they have to travel. Beats sedatives.


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## ashkelon (Jul 25, 2009)

My retired TB loves goats, and calls to them over the fence, especially if he hears the kids bleating. He is much more socialized to the goats than to horses. Cabra figured out that Sam will guard him from the other horses.

I don't know if this counts as "lore"...

I was talking to my priest the other day about the differences in cultures who eat horses and/or goats, and those who don't. He says it has to do with the difference in the pre-christian religion of the people. In Nordic, Germanic and Celtic cultures, there was ritual religious significance to eating horses and goats, because those animals were associated with deities. As a mark of difference, post-conversion, those cultures no longer ate goats and horses. In other cultures, where there was no deity associated with the eating of those meats, there was no reason for the missionaries to impose aversion to them.

I think goat tastes pretty good, but I still think I'd have to be pretty hungry to knowingly eat horse. Silly, I guess, but it is what it is. And I think my gold-horned, snowy-white, goat is pretty magical, FWIW


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Buzkashi*

Buzkashi is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. Skilled riders grab a headless goat carcass from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. The goal of a player is to grab the carcass and then pitch it across a goal line or into a circle. It was made famous in Rambo III.


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## feederseaters (Nov 8, 2009)

"What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly" is a 
cautionary Jamaican proverb which translated means: 
What tastes good to a goat will ruin his belly. In 
other words - the things that seem good to you now, 
can hurt you later.


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## GoatTracksMagazine (Dec 20, 2008)

This is from Wikipedia ... and we've all noticed the goat on the placemats at our fav. Chinese restaurant. 

I think it's kind of funny since "shy" and "introverted" are not the first two words that come to mind when describing our boys.

"The goat is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Each animal is associated with certain personality traits; those born in a year of the goat are predicted to be shy, introverted, creative, and perfectionist."

And the etymology of the "get your goat" phrase makes sense to me, and it's the definition I've heard before. Our backyard neighbors used to have one lonely horse. When we got our goats, he immediately perked up his ears, and would hang out by our communal fence line all day. The goats certainly brought some companionship and peace to him.


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## stinky (Jun 6, 2009)

How about hornier than a two-something or othered billy-goat...

And, if you've ever seen a buck around does, it fits.


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: "Act the Giddy goat"*

If they "act the giddy goat" they are acting silly.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/giddy-goat.html


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Bill Grogan's Goat*

This is an old song. I wish I could hear it sometime.

There was a man, now please take note:
There was a man who had a goat.
He loved that goat, indeed he did,
He loved that goat just like a kid.

One day that goat was feeling fine,
Ate three red shirts right off the line.
The man, he grabbed him by the back,
And tied him to the railroad track.

The whistle blew, the train drew nigh,
The poor goat knew that he must die.
He gave three shrieks of mortal pain,
Coughed up the shirts & flagged the train!


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

Rex, my mom used to sing a song to my brothers and I when we were little kids that was very similar to that one. Actually, she sang it _with_ us since it was one of those echo songs where we repeated every line after her. She sang it "Bill Bailey's Goat", but most people sing it "Bill Grogan's Goat".

*Bill Bailey's Goat *

Bill Bailey's goat
Was feelin' fine. 
Ate three red shirts
Right off the line.

Bill Bailey gave
His goat a WHACK
And tied him to
The railroad track.

The whistle blew, 
The train drew nigh. 
Bill Bailey's goat 
Was doomed to die.

He gave a yelp
Of mortal pain, 
Coughed up those shirts, 
And flagged the train.

(...and Grandma too.)


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

I'd like to hear the music that goes with the words!


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## ali pearson (Aug 12, 2009)

Check out this hilarious website- I don't know how to make it a link-
Ali

http://www.goat-trauma.org/


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## Rex (Nov 30, 2008)

*Re: Devil Goats*

In England and Scotland it is said that goats will never be seen for 24 consecutive hours because once a day they visit Satan to have their beards combed.

Hmmmmm... can't say as I have seen any of my goats for 24 consecutive hours.

This probably has something to do with the legends that Satan looks like a goat with horns and cloven hooves.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Separating the sheep from the goats.*

Separating the sheep from the goats.

Commonly associated with separating the good from the bad as a lessor implementation of the final judgement.

Mt 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mt 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Using the Hebrew rules of interpretation, this tells us that the right side is the "heavenly" or "spiritual" side and the left side is the "fleshly" or earthly side for purposes of sensus plenior. Since the splitting of the rock, parting of the sea, tearing of the veil, all use the motif of splitting, they all refer to the cross where Christ was separated body from spirit, but also Son and Father. The real horror of the cross, the "splitting" of God himself, which far exceeds any physical suffering of that death, is prophesied in shadows using these pictures.

From this, apply the meaning of left and right to the rest of scripture and you find out the Ninevites didn't know the flesh from the spirit. The story of Ehud and Eglon becomes a picture of Christ and as Ehud pulls the sword from his right side with his left hand it means that God's will, (right thigh) was accomplished by his word (sword) using men working in the flesh (left hand).

There are no scriptures that relate the goat to the devil, since even the scapegoat is a picture of Christ. But there were groups from time to time who thought the flesh was evil and that is a plausible connection.

A simple goat is the key to unlocking the language of prophetic riddles.


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

*Re: Devil Goats*



Rex said:


> In England and Scotland it is said that goats will never be seen for 24 consecutive hours because once a day they visit Satan to have their beards combed.


Hmm... Cuzco doesn't have a beard. He must have sold an extra chunk of his soul for the deluxe polish 'n' shave job instead of the simple brush-up 'n' comb.

The things goats do for fashion!


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

In the Zodiac, Capricornus, the Sea Goat, has been identified with Pan, who is sometimes seen as a goat in Roman mythology and was a symbol of fertility.


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Give up the goat*

"Give up the goat" thought to be a malapropism for "Give up the ghost" is given a second origin here:

http://grumpy.blog.co.uk/2007/05/13/giv ... t~2263149/


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Goat-song*

"According to Greek tradition, 'tragedy' meant originally 'goat-song'. "

http://www.reference-global.com/doi/abs ... 4.42.1.145

"The real explanation seems to be that various things were connected with the goat, because they were characterized by goatiness or hairiness."

Things to seem to get connected to my goats because of their hairiness.... ;-)


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*The Legend of Cadwaladr's Goat*

A welsh story of fairies...

http://63.249.123.11/neu/celt/wfl/wfl04.htm


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Unicorn*

Physiologus declared that the unicorn was a little goat, and indeed the unicorn promoted by Barnum and Baily was a goat.

http://lair2000.net/Unicorn_Dreams/Unic ... _made.html


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Lord of the Rings*

The game, not the book has Goat mounts, which causes unending moans amongst the book purists.

Though Middle Earth may not have had goat-mounts, I have seen pictures on this forum of them. ;-)


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## Bob Jones (Aug 21, 2009)

*Billy Goat Curse*

"The Billy Goat curse was supposedly placed on the Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave a World Series game at the Cubs' home ground of Wrigley Field[1] because his pet goat's odor was bothering other fans. He was outraged and declared, "Them Cubs, they aren't gonna win no more," which has been interpreted to mean that there would never be another World Series game won at Wrigley Field.[2] "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Billy_Goat


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