DCHP-1 Online
gopher [< Cdn F gaufre gris < F gaufre honeycomb, from the structure of the gopher's burrow] West 
1 n. one of several kinds of small ground squirrels.
- 1853 [The prairie] is the favourite home of . . . the gauffres. . . .
- 1873 (1962) On the prairies the little gopher or ground squirrel is almost equally abundant. . . .
- 1905 A chipmunk, with its bright-striped coat, or a more soberly clad gopher will sometimes dash across the trail or make remarks from the security of a snug retreat.
- 1958 Besides the Richardson ground squirrel, which is the commonest "gopher" on the Canadian prairies, there are several other species, such as the thirteen-lined, Franklin, Columbian, Parry's and mantled.
- 1964 [It was] probably a Saturday morning on a return from a gopher hunt in the prairie beyond.
2 n. Slang, Obs. a member of the North West Mounted Police.
See also: North West Mounted Police
- 1927 . . . the Force objected to their name of "gophers," the gopher being an animal that takes to its hole at the first intimation of peril, and stays there till it is past. . . .
- 1853 [The prairie] is the favourite home of . . . the gauffres. . . .