goody

someone who tries too hard to please people in authority, especially teachers or parents Sandra's a real goody-goody - always doing extra homework and arriving early to lessons.

A prudish, self-righteous individual, a goody-goody. For example, Phyllis was a real goody two-shoes, tattling on her friends to the teacher. This expression alludes to the main character of a nursery tale, The History of Goody Two-Shoes (1765), who was so pleased when receiving a second shoe that she kept saying "Two shoes." The goody in the story is short for goodwife but means "goody-goody" in the idiom.

An expression of delight. “Goody gumdrops” and “Goody, goody gumdrops” were popularized in Carl Ed's 1930s Harold Teen cartoon strip, although whether Ed originated the phrases is unclear. “Gumdrops” referred to the candy, and the phrase's connotation was self-consciously cute, as if childish glee.

A self-righteous, vain person. The 18th-century children's story, The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, attributed to Oliver Goldsmith, was a version of Cinderella. The title character, named after an already-established phrase, was an orphan who was so poor, she owned only one shoe. When a rich benefactor gave her a complete set of footwear, she repeated her delighted in having “two shoes.” The phrase “Goody Two-Shoes” developed its negative connotation because the girl subsequently married into money, which cast suspicion on her virtuous nature.