Gung-ho

Gung-ho
For other uses, see Gung-ho (disambiguation).

Gung ho is a slang term in American English used to mean "enthusiastic" or "dedicated" originally used in Marine slang. It is an anglicised pronunciation of "gōng hé" (工合), the shortened version and slogan of the "gōngyè hézuòshè" (工業合作社) or Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, which was abbreviated as INDUSCO in English.

The two Chinese characters forming the word Gung Ho are translated individually as "Work" and "Together".

The linguist Albert Moe studied both the origin and the usage in English. He concludes that the term is an "Americanism that is derived from the Chinese, but its several accepted American meanings have no resemblance whatever to the recognized meaning in the original language" and that its "various linguistic uses, as they have developed in the United States, have been peculiar to American speech." In Chinese, concludes Moe, "this is neither a slogan nor a battle cry; it is only a name for an organization." [1]

The term was picked up by United States Marine Corps Major Evans Carlson from his New Zealand friend, Rewi Alley, one of the founders of the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives. Carlson explained in a 1943 interview: "I was trying to build up the same sort of working spirit I had seen in China where all the soldiers dedicated themselves to one idea and worked together to put that idea over. I told the boys about it again and again. I told them of the motto of the Chinese Cooperatives, Gung Ho. It means Work Together-Work in Harmony...." [2]

Later Carlson used gung ho during his (unconventional) command of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. From there it spread throughout the U.S. Marine Corps (hence the association between the two), where it was used as an expression of spirit and into American society as a whole when the phrase became the title of a 1943 war film, Gung Ho!, about the 2nd Raider Battalion's raid on Makin Island in 1942.


See also

  • United States Marine Corps slang

References

  1. ^ Moe, 26, 30.
  2. ^ Don Burke, "Carlson of the Raiders," Life, September 20, 1943, quote in Moe, p. 58.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • gung-ho — /gung hoh /, Informal. adj. 1. wholeheartedly enthusiastic and loyal; eager; zealous: a gung ho military outfit. adv. 2. in a successful manner: The business is going gung ho. [introduced as a training slogan in 1942 by U.S. Marine officer Evans… …   Universalium

  • Gung-ho — est une coopérative chinoise fondée en 1937 par Rewi Alley et ses camarades, à Baoji, Shaanxi, près de la ville de Xi an. La coopérative s est ensuite développée dans les autres régions de Chine. Elle a dû arrêter ses activités en 1952. Elle les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • gung-ho — [ˌgʌŋ ˈhəu US ˈhou] adj informal [Date: 1900 2000; : Chinese; Origin: gonghe, from jongguo gongye hozo she Chinese Industrial Cooperatives Society , used as a battle cry (meaning work together ) by U.S. soldiers in World War II] very eager to do… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • gung ho — also gung ho, gungho, 1942, slang motto of Carlson s Raiders, (2nd Marine Raider Battalion, under Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, 1896 1947), U.S. guerrilla unit operating in the Pacific in World War II, from Chinese kung ho work together, cooperate.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gung ho — If someone is gung ho about something, they support it blindly and don t think about the consequences …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • gung-ho — [ gʌŋ hou ] adjective INFORMAL very enthusiastic, especially about something that might be dangerous …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • gung ho —    (gung hoh) [Chinese motto: work together] A slogan used by some U.S. Marines in World War II. Informally, as an adjective: enthusiastic; eager; zealous; impassioned …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

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  • gung-ho — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ unthinkingly enthusiastic and eager, especially about taking part in fighting or warfare. ORIGIN from a Chinese word taken to mean work together and adopted as a slogan by US Marines …   English terms dictionary

  • gung-ho — ☆ gung ho [guŋ′hō′ ] adj. [Chin, kung ho, lit., work together: slogan of Lt. Col. E. F. Carlson s Marine Raiders in WWII] Informal enthusiastic, cooperative, enterprising, etc. in an unrestrained, often naive way …   English World dictionary

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