Great Go
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
At the universities, a familiar term for the final examinations for the B.A. degree; at Oxford usually shortened to Greats. Cp. LITTLE Go.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Great Go” mean?
At the universities, a familiar term for the final examinations for the B.A. degree; at Oxford usually shortened to Greats. Cp. LITTLE Go.
Is “Great Go” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.