Cross-cultural communication has failed us once again, with the most recent example being The Guardian’s decision to publish an opinion piece celebrating beloved Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway for being a “gooner.”


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For the uninitiated, to many users of the internet, particularly those not of the British persuasion, “gooning” refers to the state achieved by a man after a prolonged session of edging, aka holding one’s orgasm. Many definitions on Urban Dictionary liken it to a meditative state, while critics decry it as a side effect of our porn-obsessed culture. Either way, it’s not something you would ever associate with Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia.


Fortunately, the British were on hand to explain this miscommunication with the rest of us: In the U.K., a “gooner” is someone who is a massive fan of Arsenal FC, the North London-based soccer team. The nickname is a corruption of the team’s nickname of “Gunners,” and dates back to the 1980s.



The Guardian realized their faux pas and have since changed the headline of the op-ed to read “secret Arsenal fan” instead, so this has probably been a good lesson for them in considering how headlines look once they leave their original context; since this is the internet, it’s a likely possibility.



Hathaway was discovered to be an Arsenal fan after a clip of her learning of a recent Leandro Trossard’s goal during an interview went viral.


It’s a relief to know that Hathaway isn’t secretly addicted to edging, but learning she supports Arsenal isn’t much better. This is an important reminder that nobody’s perfect, I guess.