What does it mean by 'give it a gander'?

To take a gander means to look at something, to get a peek at something, to peruse something. Take a gander means to look at something briefly or to take a long, thorough look. A gander is a male goose, but the word gander came into use as a verb in England in the 1880s, to mean to look at something. The idea behind the idiom is that a gander is always looking about, twisting and turning his long neck, keeping an eye out for trouble in defense of his mate.