go for broke
English edit
Etymology edit
From Hawaiian Pidgin craps slang, meaning “to wager everything on one roll”: one would be broke, i.e. bankrupt, if one lost.[1]
Popularized by the movie Go for Broke! (1951), which is named for the 442nd Infantry Regiment’s unit motto.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb edit
go for broke (third-person singular simple present goes for broke, present participle going for broke, simple past went for broke, past participle gone for broke)
- To wager everything.
- (idiomatic) To try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.
- 1931 September 19, "Loui", “Want a Lot of Action? See Barefoot Games”, in Honolulu Star-Bulletin[1], Honolulu, HI, page 11:
- These shoeless gladiators "shoot the works" or as they themselves term it "go for broke" in each game. They battle for every inch ...
- 1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:
- Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse microbus.
- 2024 January 10, Howard Johnston, “Launched for enthusiasts - now it's for everyone”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 29:
- Going for broke, the BRB said that Edinburgh-Aberdeen and Hull-Doncaster-Leeds should be considered [for electrification], along with Plymouth-Penzance and Crewe-Holyhead, all to be in place by 2001. Norman Fowler's reply was short and to the point: Sorry, no.
Translations edit
to wager everything
|
to try everything possible in a final attempt
|
See also edit
References edit
- ^ The movie Go for Broke!, which popularized this phrase, gives this etymology.