gung ho
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From a catachresis of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Mandarin 工合 (gōnghé), interpreted as 工 (gōng, “work”) + 合 (hé, “together”) to mean "to work together", itself an acronym for 工業合作社／工业合作社 (Gōngyè Hézuòshè, “[Chinese] Industrial Cooperative Society”).[1][2] The interpretation "work together" was created by U.S. Marine Evans Carlson, who was posted in China during the 1930s. It became the motto and nickname of the enthusiastic battalion Carlson commanded, leading to other marines adopting the term to mean overly enthusiastic. It was popularized in the United States by the propaganda film Gung Ho!, which profiled the battalion's leadership of the Makin Island raid during World War II.[3]
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ɡʌŋˈhəʊ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GenAm" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ɡʌŋˈhoʊ/
Adjective
gung ho (comparative more gung ho, superlative most gung ho)
- (informal, derogatory) Overly enthusiastic or energetic.
- No matter how gung ho you are when you start, you will tire as you become mired in details.
- (informal, derogatory, military) Cocky, undisciplined, contemptuous of rules[3]