half-cocked
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half-cocked
1. Prematurely, impulsively, or rashly. Don't go off half-cocked and say something you'll regret later. I'll admit that I went off half-cocked when I sent that angry email before finding out what really happened. A: "Why isn't Dave talking to you right now?" B: "It's possible that I went off half-cocked and accused him of sabotaging my presentation."
2. slang Drunk. Do you remember last night at the bar at all? You were half-cocked. Well, I must have been half-cocked if I got up and did karaoke at the bar! Help him get home, will ya? He started drinking whiskey, and now he's half-cocked.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
half-cocked
1. mod. unprepared. (see also go off half-cocked.) So he’s half-cocked. So what?
2. mod. alcohol intoxicated. He just sat there, half-cocked and singing.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
half-cocked
Prematurely. Like “flash in the pan,” “half-cocked” is a phrase that comes from old firearms. The firing mechanism of a flintlock pistol or musket could be set at full cock, or ready to be discharged, or half cock, which was the equivalent of having a safety on a revolver. A weapon that went off while half-cocked did so prematurely, just like someone who loses his temper without considering the facts or consequences of a situation. To act too soon, especially in a rash or impetuous fashion, is to go off half-cocked.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price