GOAT
what it means
An acronym, usually written with the goat emoji 🐐. It started in sport and now applies to anyone's personal favourite, which has weakened it considerably.
Greatest Of All Time — the best there has ever been at something.
the origin story
Attributed to Muhammad Ali's camp in the 1990s; LL Cool J's 2000 album "G.O.A.T." spread the acronym. Sports Twitter made it universal.
Debating "the GOAT" became a sports-media genre in itself. Inflation set in as it spread: people now call a helpful colleague or a good sandwich the GOAT, which is why sports fans often insist on "the" GOAT for the real claim.
in the wild
Messi or Ronaldo?
Messi is the GOAT, it's not close.
I covered your shift.
You're the GOAT 🐐
how to use it
- Sports and competitive debates
- Thanking someone who did you a big favour
- Ranking favourites in any field
- For everything, which drains the term
- In formal writing about actual records
- Where readers may not know the acronym
related terms
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