Upon doing a search of "GALOOT" I stumbled across the Online Etymology Dictionary. Typing galoot into the search box returned the following information:
galoot
"awkward or boorish man," 1812, nautical, "raw recruit, green hand," originally a sailor's contemptuous word for soldiers or marines, of uncertain origin. "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto "galley slave." Perhaps rather Dutch slang kloot "testicle," klootzaak "scrotum," used figuratively as an insult.
Interesting! And to think Yosemite Sam used the word all the time. If you want to hear Yosemite click on button 4 - Crazy Galoot from SoundBoard
Louis B. Mayer used the word "galoot" when referring to Spencer Tracy in the following quote, "What do we need another galoot for? We've already got Wallace Beery" -- Louis B. Mayer, upon finding out that Irving Thalberg had hired Tracy to join MGM. (Quote comes from the IMDb entry for Spencer Tracy.)
Why I even learned that Carl Sandburg and Sinclair Lewis used "galoot" in their works. Bartleby. com had 4 references that I found.
Wow! I never realized that Yosemite Sam was so well read!
© 2008 Barry T Horst
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