gung ho

See also: gungho and gung-ho

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From a World War II catachresis of 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”).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡʌŋˈhəʊ/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ɡʌŋˈhoʊ/

Adjective

gung ho (comparative more gung ho, superlative most gung ho)

(informal, derogatory) Very enthusiastic or energetic.
No matter how gung ho you are when you start, you will tire as you become mired in details.

References

Etymology: ,

Anagrams

Huggon

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