Etymology of the phrase "goof off"

It seems clear to be an American idiom with the approximate meaning, "to waste time or procrastinate."

My curiosity is about its possible relation to the Goofy, the Disney cartoon character.

Solution 1:

The OED has entries from 1932 of the verb goof meaning:

To dawdle, to spend time idly or foolishly; to ‘skive’; to gawp; to let one's attention wander. Sometimes const. off.

The first example which contains the composite goof off is from 1963.

The etymology is believed to be from:

Apparently < French goffe awkward, stupid, < Italian goffo (Spanish gofo), of uncertain origin

There are entries for goff in English from 1570 to 1878.

1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Nii/1, A Goffe, foole, morio, bardus.

1678 Polit. Ballads (1860) I. 205 He calls the bishop Grey~beard Goff, And makes his power a mere scoff.

1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) Goff, a foolish clown. North.

1801 R. Anderson et al. Ballads in Cumberland Dial. 18 My mudder caws me peer deyl'd guff.

1818 J. Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck II. 186 Weel I wat ye'll never get the like o' her, great muckle hallanshaker-like guff.

1869 J. C. Atkinson Peacock's Gloss. Dial. Hundred of Lonsdale
Goff, a foolish clown, a silly fellow, an oaf.

1878 W. Dickinson Gloss. Words Cumberland Goff, Guff, a fool.

The interesting thing is that goof, goof up, and goof off are almost entirely American - one seldom hears them used in Britain, Australia etc. I am wondering if goof may have come to America from Spanish?

Solution 2:

Sober reflection suggests the the passage of the word 'goof' from the undisputed Romance language origin 'goffe' / 'goffo' to it's popular usage in American English was via Scots immigrants to North America, rather than a direct borrowing in North America from Spanish or French settlers.

The Scots word, 'guff' also references spellings as varied as 'gouff' (1822) and 'goof' (1885). 'Guff' in Scots refers to a foolish person, or foolishness generally. The Scots National Dictionary Online gives details of the word 'guff' here: http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/guff_n1_v1.

In English (and Australian) the word 'guff' (as in 'a load of guff' meaning empty and/or foolish rhetoric) is not unknown. Seemingly the Scots and the US went in the direction of 'goof' and the English for 'guff'.

And in the 1930's along came Disney and a dog.