What it means
Gung ho means wildly enthusiastic and keen to dive in, often with a bit of reckless bravado. If someone’s gung ho, they’re charging ahead before the rest of the group has even found the map. The phrase came into English via the US Marines in WWII, borrowed from a Chinese term. Handy for praising energy or warning someone to calm down.
Usage examples
"Dan got gung ho and booked the venue, printed flyers, and promised a full bar, then realised we hadn’t even got a band."
"The new recruit was so gung-ho he volunteered for every shift in week one and burned out by week three."
"Everyone was gung-ho about the camping trip until they saw the forecast and suddenly remembered prior plans."
"He went all gung ho on the flat move, hired a van, bribed two mates with pizza, then forgot to pick up the keys."
"Don’t get gung ho with the power tools, mate, we’re building a shelf, not launching a moon mission."
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Where it comes from
It reached English through US Marines in World War II, who picked it up from Chinese 工合, read as gonghe, tied to the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives movement and meaning work together. In American slang, it drifted from teamwork into fired-up, all-in enthusiasm, often with a charging-ahead-too-fast vibe.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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