goody-goody

1. noun Someone who exclusively follows the rules and caters to authority figures; a teacher's pet. Jill's classmates called her a goody-goody after she volunteered to supervise the class while the teacher was away. Jeff is the resident goody-goody in the office. He brings the boss coffee every day. I bet Timmy told on us—he's such a goody-goody, always ready to tattle on any of the other students he thinks are misbehaving.

2. adjective Self-righteous or sanctimonious. Forget your goody-goody rules and go out on a school night for once! While he makes good points, his goody-goody attitude is not likely to win him many allies. I'm not surprised Molly didn't cut class with us. She'll never abandon her goody-goody ways.

a ˈgoody-goody

a goody ˈtwo-shoes

(informal, disapproving) a person who behaves very well to please people in authority such as parents or teachers: Don’t be such a goody-goody! ♢ He’s a real goody two-shoes. He’d never do anything that might get him into trouble.

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

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References in classic literature

Aren't you ashamed of being such a goody-goody, and of studying so hard?

View in context

Similarly, a goody-goody teacher seems to be the unique professional--one with a fantastic figure--but empty-minded.

Goody-Goody

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