gutted

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle English gutted, gotted, equivalent to gut +‎ -ed.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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gutted (comparative more gutted, superlative most gutted)

  1. (not comparable) Eviscerated.
    • 1829, Thomas Curtis, editor, The London encyclopaedia, or, Universal dictionary of science, art, literature, and practical mechanics, by the orig. ed. of the Encyclopaedia metropolitana:
      The exports, on the whole, in 1815, exceeded those of 1816; but the gutted herrings exported in the latter year exceeded those of the former by 12606½ barrels
    • 2006, John Durand, Behind Enemy Lines: A Memoir:
      He was leaning forward, head down, taking one deliberate step after another, both arms behind, dragging his gutted buck by its barely forked antlers.
  2. With the most important parts destroyed (often by fire), removed or rendered useless.
    • 1786, Hannah More, Florio read in The Works of Hannah More, in Four Volumes: Including Several Pieces Never Before Published, Vol. I. (1803)
      (referring to the practice of newspapers removing all intermediate vowels from the names of people about whom they were making potentially libelous statements, as eg Fl-r-o, compare 1714 cite of past participle, below) For he to keep him from the vapours, /Subscribed at Hookham's, saw the papers; /Was deep in poet's-corner wit; /Knew what was in italics writ; /Explain'd fictitious names at will, /Each gutted syllable cou'd fill; /There oft, in paragraphs, his name /Gave symptom sweet of growing fame.
    • 1819, John Thomas James, Journal of a Tour in Germany, Sweden, Russia, Poland in 1813-14:
      Viasma on the other hand, presented as dismal a scene as we had any where witnessed. Nearly all the large houses were gutted and burnt.
    • 1841, "An intelligent gentleman of Berwick" quoted in Charles Ellms, The Tragedy of the Seas; Or, Sorrow on the Ocean, Lake, and River, from Shipwreck, Plague, Fire and Famine
      We have this day paid a visit to the wreck, which is lying in much the same state that it was, only somewhat more gutted by the occasional dashing of the billows amongst its timber and planks.
    • 1952 October, C. A. Johns, “One Hundred Years at Kings Cross—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 653:
      In sixteen days no fewer than 99,000 passengers were conveyed to the new [Alexandra] Palace but, on June 9 [1873], this wonderful source of traffic was gutted by fire.
    • 1998, Dorothy U. Seyler, Read, Reason, Write:
      The markets will be more gutted than usual.
    • 2006, Robert Dallek, Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960:
      The gutted city of Bremen, where nothing remained standing in its central area except a few walls in “crazy patterns”, and “the smell of death” from thousands of people buried in the wreckage “hung heavy in the air”.
    • 2006, John W. Quist, An Occasionally Dry State Surrounded by Water: Temperance and Prohibition in Antebellum Michigan read in Paul Finkelman, Martin Hershock (eds), History of Michigan Law
      Recognizing by late April that the new law was gutted beyond repair, the Michigan State Temperance Society urged prohibitionists to interrogate every every political candidate on this issue and to vote only for those who would "publicly pledge" to support "the passage and enforcement of [another] law".
  3. (chiefly archaic) Having a gut or guts.
    • 1704, Jonathan Swift, A Full and True Account of the Battle Fought last Friday Between the Antient and the Modern Books in St James's Library read in John Hawkesworth The Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, accurately revised In Twelve Volumes, Adorned with Copper-Plates; with Some Account of the Author's Life, and Notes Historical and Explanatory (1755)
      Having spoke thus, she took the ugliest of her monsters, full gutted from her spleen, and flung it invisibly into his mouth, which, flying straight up into his head, squeezed out his eye-balls, gave him a distorted look, and half overturned his brain.
    • 2006, Karra Porter, Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981:
      He could tell she wanted to cry. "We've made a pact that we are going to try to get into men's basketball, and we're not going to do any of this crying stuff," he reminded her, and she gutted it out.
    • 2006, Duane K. Maddy, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      "Uh, I'm having a problem " mumbled the soggy-gutted bear as he suddenly found himself wedged between two large Austrian women.
  4. (slang) Deeply disappointed or crushed, as by defeat, failure, or loss; let down.
    Synonym: filleted
    • 1986, Keith William Nolan, Into Laos: Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719 ; Vietnam 1971:
      The whole platoon had felt gutted, an attitude rarely reflected in press reporters.
    • 2001, Terry Eagleton, Figures of Dissent: Critical Essays on Fish, Spivak, Zizek and Others:
      Throughout the book he runs the whole gamut of emotion from ‘chuffed' to ‘gutted', while being on the whole (surprisingly, for a fabulously gifted millionaire) more gutted than chuffed, and he cheerfully confesses to a short temper.
    • 2004, "Bobbins", quoted in Justine Roberts, Mums on Pregnancy: Trade Secrets from the Real Experts
      The thing I was most gutted about was that I had planned to finish knitting a patchwork cot blanket. It never did get finished.
    • 2006, Karon Louise Mannerstedt, Twice:
      The guard entered the room and before I knew it Sarah had left, I felt gutted and a broken man.
    • 2006, Paul Mitch, Life on the Rock and Roll: Dole:
      So there I was feeling totally gutted by the whole ghastly business.
    • 2021 February 4, Hania Allen, The Ice Hotel: a gripping Scandi-noir thriller, Constable, →ISBN:
      He was really gutted by his father's death.

Usage notes

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Strongly associated with British slang, the term was adopted into American usage in the 2020s.[1]

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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gutted

  1. simple past and past participle of gut

References

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  1. ^ Yagoda, Ben (2024 September 26) “The other British invasion: how UK lingo conquered the US”, in The Guardian‎[1], Guardian Media Group, retrieved 2024-10-21
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