go off half-cocked
verbEtymology
commonly believed to be From the days of flintlock and caplock firearms, where the half-cock position of the hammer was both a rudimentary safety, and the proper position for priming the pan or inserting a percussion cap. The phrase was originally rendered, "to go off at half-cock." however this expression comes from archery, the coloured feather on an arrow is called the cock feather, the arrow must be drawn back fully so the arrow will fly the furthest distance. going off half cocked means the arrow will not achieve its full power and not reach its target.
Definitions
To take a premature or ill-considered action.
- Make sure none of your men go off half-cocked and ruin this operation.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for go off half-cocked. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA