A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an

employee Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

who specializes in the delivery of specific items to their superior(s). Examples of these items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term is used to describe a child or young adult who is learning how to do tasks and is sent to fetch items. A similar job is that of

peon Peon (English language, English , from the Spanish language, Spanish ''wikt:peón#Spanish, peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which t ...

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which i ...

. ''Gofer'' may also refer to a junior member of an organisation who generally receive the most vexing and thankless work.

Etymology

Gofer derives from “go for” and typifies a boss’s often impromptu order to an underling, usually a menial one, to go and fetch something, frequently of a personal nature, such as coffee, dry-cleaned garments, or

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the ...

. The term originated in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

In popular culture

In the first season (1976) of the television series ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', Scooter was given the stage manager job because his uncle owned the theater where the Muppets performed. The

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

was that a

gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

not only is an animal, like the Muppets supposedly are, but is a fast animal, collecting food and delivering it somewhere else. At some point in the Muppets series, Kermit the Frog suggested that he himself was a gofer, but probably didn't last long in the job. Chavo Guerrero was considered to be a gofer for his aunt Vickie Guerrero on WWE's '' SmackDown'' for most of 2008 (Vickie was ''SmackDown's'' General Manager at the time) when they were both part of the villainous La Familia stable. This would become a sporadic running joke on WWE programming as other superstars would mock Chavo for this reason. The 2008 film ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...

'' features a robotic gofer (named GO-4, a pun on gofer), who is the henchman of the villainous AI autopilot AUTO.

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

's character Cliff Booth is a gofer for Rick Dalton (

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

) in the 2019 movie ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica, and distributed by Sony Pict ...

''. In the TV series '' Entourage'', the character Salvatore "Turtle" Assante, is a gofer to movie star Vincent Chase. In

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

, Terry McGinnis fights crime as the new Batman under the pretense of being a gofer for an elderly Bruce Wayne. In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The JoJoLands, the main character, Jodio Joestar, is a gofer and gangster for the state's underground drug trade. In

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

(Season 6, Episode 13), Harry is hired as a gofer at Sally's TV station but believes he is supposed to be a gopher.

References

{{reflist Employment classifications Office work