gooning

Noun

gooning (uncountable)

1. (neologism) A form of legal kidnapping in which troubled teenagers are forcibly transported to boot camps, boarding schools, wilderness therapy, or similar rehabilitation facilities, often conducted by a group of intimidating men ("goons") under cover of darkness.
   • Hired by their parents, these people bring them, usually by plane, to the wilderness program. The official name for this is transporting. The slang term is gooning, as in taken by goons.[2016 October 20, Laura Collins-Hughes, “Therapy Becomes Theater in 'Wilderness'”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29...
   • Within what's known as the secure transport industry, it's called "gooning." Brawny men show up under the cover of darkness and force a teenager into a vehicle, taking them against their will to a boarding school, foster home or treatment center.2022 September 27, Jim Salter, “Rep. Ro Khanna pushes rules for 'gooning,' taking troubled kids to care”, in The Mercury News, San Jose, C.A.: Digital First Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
2. A form of masturbation that involves edging ("maintaining sexual arousal without reaching orgasm") for a long period of time, resulting in a hypnotic, trance-like state. This is sometimes enhanced with a drug, such as amyl nitrite, nitrous oxide, marijuana, or methamphetamines.
   • Explanations of "gooning" often reference accessing a primal, implicitly male state of sexual excitement and indulgence, a kind of physical speaking in tongues through masturbation.2018 July 18, John Sherman, “Why Some Guys Like Jerking Off Together”, in BuzzFeed News, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2022
   • Edging, gooning's close cousin, is a bit more time-consuming and involved, but it comes with the promise of a more powerful and gratifying ejaculation at the end.2020 November 21, Michael Stahl, “The Psychedelic Science of 'Gooning' — Or Masturbating Into a Trance”, in MEL Magazine, archived from the original on 03 Jul 2022