go off half-cocked
To take a premature or ill-considered action.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Don't go off half-cocked without checking the facts first.”
“He decided to quit his job and move abroad, but his friends warned him not to go off half-cocked without a plan.”
“The committee urged the director to wait for the full report rather than going off half-cocked and making a decision that could damage the company's reputation.”
disputed origin
The phrase is widely said to derive from the mechanics of flintlock and caplock firearms, in which the hammer could be set to a half-cock position. This setting served as a rudimentary safety and was the required state for priming the pan or inserting a percussion cap. Originally rendered as "to go off at half-cock," the idiom describes the mechanical failure of a weapon discharging before the hammer has been fully drawn back to the firing position.
An alternative, though disputed, theory traces the expression to archery. In this context, the cock refers to the uniquely coloured feather on an arrow which must be aligned correctly before the bow is fully drawn. To go off half-cocked would suggest releasing the arrow before reaching full draw, resulting in a shot that lacks the power necessary to reach its target.
- 01
all dressed up and nowhere to go
Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.
- 02
all systems go
Everything is ready.
- 03
as you go
While one is doing (something); as one progresses.
- 04
boldly go where no man has gone before
To break new ground.
- 05
come and go
To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.
- 06
don't go there
Do not broach that topic.
- 07
easy come, easy go
Easily won and easily lost (usually said when resigned to a loss; something that comes in the same way, goes in the same way)
- 08
enough to go around
There is an adequate amount or supply of something for all of the people present or involved.
Last updated August 10, 2026