go for the gold

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English

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WOTD – 8 September 2024

Etymology

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An allusion to the gold medal, the highest prize in many major competitive events, especially in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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go for the gold (third-person singular simple present goes for the gold, present participle going for the gold, simple past went for the gold, past participle gone for the gold)

  1. (intransitive, idiomatic, originally sports) To attempt to achieve the maximum result or reward in an endeavour.
    • 1984 November, “Griffith Goes for the Gold”, in Phoebe Russo, editor, INSCOM Journal, volume 7, number 11, Arlington, Va.: U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 3:
      At next year's Senior Olympic event, [Sam] Griffith plans on adding the 100-meter low hurdle, discus, and the 220-meter run, in addition to the events he entered this year. "Sam, go for it," as General [Albert] Stubblebine once said, becomes a motto for him. With that thought in mind, Griffith goes for the gold!
    • 1986, William J. Baker, “An Athlete Growing Old”, in Jesse Owens: An American Life, New York, N.Y.: The Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 210:
      For the first three-quarters of the essay, [Jesse] Owens introduced the leading American athletes who would be going for gold. Then he turned to "an unhappier aspect of the games this year": the specter of black athletes using the Olympics as a forum of protest against America's treatment of its black citizens.
    • 1992 February 11, John R. Quain, “Power Gets Cheaper”, in PC Magazine: The Independent Guide to Personal Computing, volume 11, number 3, New York, N.Y.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 152, column 2:
      One look confirms that the Moby Brick is not destined to be a network server; this is a personal power tool to be carried around and plugged in wherever you need top-of-the-line computing power. And Ergo has gone for the gold in terms of the product's design.
    • 1992, Nora Roberts, Honest Illusions, New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, published August 1993, →ISBN, page 439:
      Deciding to go for the gold, he leaned close to Luke's ear and whispered, "Can you tell Mama I should have a dog? A really big dog?"
    • 1994 April 21, Phillip Gorden, witness, “National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases”, in Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1995: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee of Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session: Part 4: National Institutes of Health […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 785:
      Volunteers in the 10-year study "went for the gold." Their objective was to bring their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible.
    • 2007 January 3, “Eco-friendly Napa Valley hotel caters to conscientious travelers”, in USA Today‎[1], McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2010-03-23:
      The 132-room Gaia Napa Valley Hotel wants to go for the gold, making it the highest-rated hotel in the state and the nation.
    • 2008 December, Michael Phelps, with Alan Abrahamson, “Courage: The 200 Individual Medley”, in No Limits: The Will to Succeed, New York, N.Y.: Free Press, →ISBN, page 184:
      Laszlo [i.e., László Cseh] was second, Ryan [Lochte] third. Both these guys went faster in Beijing than I went for gold in Athens; even so, I had touched more than two seconds ahead of each of them.
    • 2012 September 19, Bob Casey Jr., quoting Albert Carey Caswell, “The Legend of Latrobe”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 112th Congress, Second Session (United States Senate), volume 158, part 10, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14444, column 3:
      Mr. President, in honor of Arnold Palmer, and the presentation of his [Congressional] Gold Medal to him on September 12, 2012, in the U.S. Capitol, for a lifetime of service to his Nation and contributions in the game of golf which has earned him the title of "The King", I ask that this poem penned in his honor on this occasion by Albert Caswell be printed in the Record. […] As this Gold Medal upon you we now so bestow / Because, on the fairways of life you've always gone for gold! / The Legend of Latrobe!
    • 2014, Reshma Patil, “Prologue: Beijing: ‘Where is India?’”, in Strangers across the Border: Indian Encounters in Boomtown China, Noida, Uttar Pradesh: HarperCollins Publishers India, →ISBN, page 4:
      Beijing bureaucrats promote cricket for one pragmatic reason alone. China will feel obliged to go for gold if cricket ever becomes an Olympics game.
    • 2024 July 2, “50 Reasons Why You Can’t Miss the Paris 2024 Paralympics”, in Paralympic.org‎[2], Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia: International Paralympic Committee, archived from the original on 2024-07-30:
      Several Paralympic Winter Games athletes will be swapping snowsuits and skis for summer clothing in Paris. Look out for Italy's Para snowboard athlete Veronica Plebani who goes for gold in Para triathlon.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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Further reading

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