General
gung-ho
What does gung-ho mean?
Wildly enthusiastic, all-in, charging at it. Started as a sincere teamwork ethos under Carlson's Raiders — work together, fight together. Civilian English flipped it slightly: now it usually means a little too keen, a little too ready to volunteer.
"Don't be so gung-ho about overtime — they'll have you doing it every weekend."
Origin
From Mandarin gōnghé (工合), shorthand for the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives. Lt Col Evans Carlson picked it up while observing the Eighth Route Army in China and adopted it as the motto of Carlson's Raiders in WWII, meaning 'work together'.
Frequently asked questions
What does gung-ho mean?
Gung-ho means over-the-top eager, zealous, and all-in — often more enthusiastic than the situation actually calls for.
How do you use gung-ho in a sentence?
You might say, "He was so gung-ho about the plan he'd started before anyone agreed to it."
Where does gung-ho come from?
It entered English from Chinese via US Marines in World War II, adapted from a phrase meaning to work together.
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