What does 'Gooner' mean in the UK as Anne Hathaway articles confuse Americans

Anne Hathaway is a big Gooner. Massive, in fact.

Now, while readers in the UK are more likely to understand what that means, people in the US have been left very confused recently by the description.

Essentially, being a “Gooner” in the UK refers to being a fan of Arsenal football club.

Arsenal are officially nicknamed the “Gunners”, and fans of the team have been known as "Gooners" for decades.

A clip of Hathaway celebrating Leandro Trossard's goal for Arsenal against Wolves recently went viral, and an article in the Guardian labelled Hathaway a “secret Gooner”.

It sparked a big reaction from people in the US, who were more familiar with a slang definition of the word.

In North America it's something altogether more NSFW, with Urban Dictionary defining the word as being used to describe someone who enjoys a “prolonged edging session”.

So, it’s perhaps understandable how seeing Hathaway described in such a way caused a big reaction online.

The clip of Hathaway celebrating an Arsenal goal came when she was taking part in press interview for new film The Idea of You with co-star and fellow Gooner Nicholas Galitzine.

Trossard scoring for Arsenal against WolvesNaomi Baker/Getty Images

The Idea of You is a romcom that's streaming on Prime Video at the start of May, based on the 2017 novel by Robinne Lee.

Explaining to the reporter in the clip, Hathaway says: “We’re both fans of the same team, and there’s a match going on right now. Arsenal, [from] English Premier League soccer.”

The moment went viral, and was also shared by scorer of the goal Trossard on his Instagram.

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings