What does GG stand for? Good going? Greta Garbo? Golden Globes? Good grief, are you still scratching your head?
GG is most often used these days to mean “good game” – although when it comes to abbreviations, there are no wrong answers. How generous!
We have the world of online gaming to thank for this usage – “GG” is a compliment paid as a multiplayer game draws to a close, according to a 2020 Finnish linguistics study.
Often sent in chat groups, a pithy “GG” acknowledges that the game played was either good, fair, or both.
Saying “GG” is also a display of sportsmanship, 2022 research from Indonesia notes. It’s like a ritualistic handshake at the end of a match well played, especially a close one.
(Of course, that’s true only if the term is used sincerely. “GG” can also be used sarcastically or as a statement of disappointment. There’s no stopping someone sprinkling in a derisive “GG” to mock poor performance during gameplay.)
This contemporary usage of GG has bled into realms of conversation beyond gaming. Authors of the Finnish study we mentioned scoured Twitter (now X) for a data sample of 121 tweets, and found “GG” was used 1.5 times more frequently outside the video game context than within it.
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“GG” can convey gratitude or praise, be a place holder for the traditional “congratulations”, and express feelings of personal success.
For all you coping comics out there, it’s also a way of slotting humour into otherwise frustrating situations: “Stubbed my big toe again. GG.”
Since “GG” is said at the end of a game, it has also been adapted to work as a farewell. Think of it as an alternative to sayings like “Thanks for the ride!” or “Cheers, it’s been great.”
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More sombre uses of GG that signal death aren’t uncommon, either.
If you’ve made it this far, there’s only one thing left to say: this time, there’s only one right answer.
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