goon squad

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noun

a group of hired thugs used to perform ruthless or violent acts.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

Origin of goon squad

First recorded in 1935–40

Another set of hackers that goes by the name the Lizard Squad told the Washington Post that they helped with the Sony hack.
U.S. Spies Say They Tracked ‘Sony Hackers’ For Years|Shane Harris|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And some members of the Lizard Squad are now claiming that they were never trying to poison the network.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet|Marc Rogers|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is a lot of residual concern that Lizard Squad was able to get even this far.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet|Marc Rogers|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the Lizard Squad was able to get one thing done: Piss off Anonymous, the best known of the hacktivist collectives.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet|Marc Rogers|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It almost makes you wonder if Lizard Squad did this just to annoy Anonymous and the other earnest champions of privacy.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet|Marc Rogers|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Halting his squad, Lawrence dismounted, and taking Harry, they carefully made their way to the brow of a hill which lay in front.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
So Lawrence find Harry rode ahead, the squad some fifteen or twenty paces in the rear, leisurely following.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
There was no need of Lawrence signaling Dan to come on, for the squad were urging their horses to the limit.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Then a squad of sepoys were told to “shoot all the women and children in the Bibigarh through the windows of the house.”
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Once a party trotted by within a half-mile of us, but no one of the four men we wanted to see was in the squad.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair