Also,
a gone goose. A person in a hopeless situation, one who is doomed; a
dead duck. For example,
When he passed me, I knew I was a gone goose. These terms have survived such synonyms as
gone chick, gone beaver, gone horse, and
gone gander. Stephen Crane used the first in
The Red Badge of Courage (1894): "I'm a gone coon this first time." [
Slang; early 1800s]