People or things that are doomed to fail or die; people who are in a hopeless situation.
From 'goner,' formed from the past participle 'gone' (Old English 'gán') plus the agent suffix '-er,' meaning 'one who is gone.' The plural 'goners' emerged in 19th-century American slang to describe people beyond saving.
During World War I, soldiers called fallen comrades 'goners'—a grim but honest way to acknowledge those who couldn't be rescued. This dark military slang shows how language helps us cope with impossible situations by naming them directly.
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