gonzo
[gon-zoh]Slang.
- (of journalism, reportage, etc.) filled with bizarre or subjective ideas, commentary, or the like.
- crazy; eccentric.
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- eccentricity, weirdness, or craziness.
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Origin of gonzo
1970–75, Americanism; apparently first used in the phrase Gonzo journalism by U.S. journalist Hunter S. Thompson (born 1939); perhaps < Italian: simpleton, one easily duped (of uncertain origin) or < Spanish ganso a lazy or dull person, literally, goose (< Germanic; see goose)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gonzo
Contemporary Examples
The season finale, which aired July 14, saw the gonzo story come to a close.
‘24: Live Another Day’ Showrunners on the Finale, the Dangers of Drones, and Jack Bauer’s FutureMarlow Stern
July 15, 2014
The Gonzo Option Marin Cogan, National Journal Brian Schweitzer is a one-man challenge to the scripted nature of modern politics.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, June 21, 2014June 21, 2014
Then he put his acting career on hold for two years to make a gonzo mockumentary with his brother-in-law, Joaquin Phoenix.
VHS and the revolutionary ability to fast forward to the scene you want to see birthed the gonzo shooting style.
But precious little has been said about this reckless cadre of gonzo docu-journos.
gonzo
- wild or crazy
- (of journalism) explicitly including the writer's feelings at the time of witnessing the events or undergoing the experiences written about
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- a wild or crazy person
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Word Origin
C20: perhaps from Italian, literally: fool, or Spanish ganso idiot, bumpkin (literally: goose)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gonzo
adj.
1971, American English, in Hunter S. Thompson's phrase gonzo journalism. Thompson in 1972 said he got it from editor Bill Cardosa and explained it as "some Boston word for weird, bizarre." Probably from Italian gonzo "rude, sottish," perhaps from Spanish ganso and ultimately from the Germanic word for "goose."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper