What it means
A gut reaction is your instant read on something before you've had time to sit down with it and think it through. It's that first yes, no, nah, not for me, or actually yeah, this feels right that hits in your stomach more than in your head. It's close to instinct, and people often trust it, even if they can't explain it properly yet.
Usage examples
"Forget the spreadsheets, what is your gut reaction to the offer?"
"My gut reaction to the new candidate at the second interview in the Edinburgh office was overwhelmingly positive, she explained the technical issue with the previous campaign without blaming the predecessor, suggested three concrete improvements in five minutes and ended with a smile that read as competent rather than rehearsed."
"My gut reaction was to say no, and it turned out to be right."
"The first gut reaction of the property surveyor at the inspection of the Victorian terrace in Sheffield last Friday morning was the slight smell of damp in the back kitchen, the buyer trusted the instinct, paid for the full structural survey, and saved twenty thousand pounds in repairs that would have surfaced six months after completion."
"My gut reaction was that the whole thing smelled dodgy, so I left before the drama started."
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Where it comes from
This comes from the older English use of gut for deep instinct and strong feeling, as if your body clocks something before your brain lays out the paperwork. Gut reaction shows up clearly in American English by the mid 1900s and then spreads wide in everyday speech, journalism, and workplace talk.
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