gonzo
English
Etymology
Coined in 1971 by Boston Globe editor Bill Cardoso. Of uncertain origin; OED proposes Italian gonzo (“dolt”) and/or Spanish ganso (“dolt, goose”).[1] The etymology supplied by Cardoso himself (French gonzeaux) is spurious.[2]
Adjective
gonzo (comparative more gonzo, superlative most gonzo)
- (journalism) Using an unconventional, exaggerated and highly subjective style, often when the reporter takes part in the events of the story.
- 1972, R. Pollack, Stop Presses, Chapter VI
- I ask Hunter to explain... Just what is Gonzo Journalism?.. “Gonzo all started with Bill Cardosa [sic],..after I wrote the Kentucky Derby piece for Scanlan's..the first time I realized you could write different. And..I got this note from Cardosa saying, ‘That was pure Gonzo journalism!’.. Some Boston word for weird, bizarre.”
- 1972, R. Pollack, Stop Presses, Chapter VI
- Unconventional, bizarre, crazy. [from 1974] [3]
- 2007, Mark Dery, The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture on the Brink[1], page 121:
- Nicholson’s Torrance is an evil clown […] Appropriately, pop culture has embraced him as a gonzo antihero: ads for T-shirts emblazoned with the “Here’s Johnny” Nicholson
Derived terms
Noun
gonzo (plural gonzos)
- Gonzo journalism or a journalist who produces such journalism.
- 2000, Hunter S. Thompson and Douglas Brinkley, Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist, 1968-1976:
- “Unstable,” indeed! Those swine. Next year we should demand a Gonzo category—or maybe RS should give it. Of course. “The First Annual Rolling Stone Award for the Year's Finest Example of Pure Gonzo Journalism.”
- A wild or crazy person.
References
- ^ “gonzo, adj.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, April 2013.
- ^ What is Gonzo? The Etymology of an Urban Legend, Martin Hirst, 2004.
- ^ John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “gonzo”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Further reading
Italian
Etymology
Noun
gonzo m (plural gonzi)
Descendants
- French: gonze
Portuguese
Noun
gonzo m (plural gonzos)
- hinge
- 1995, José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a cegueira, Caminho:
- Esperavam o ruído do portão ao ser aberto, o guincho agudo dos gonzos por untar, […]
- They waited for the sound of the gate being opened, the shrill squeal of the hinges in need of oil, […]
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- Italian lemmas
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