Jump to:

• half cock
  half cock

  noun

  the position of the hammer of a firearm when held halfway to the fully retracted position by a mechanism that prevents it from being released and firing the gun when the trigger is pulled.
• half-cock
  half-cock

  verb (used with object)

  to set the hammer of (a firearm) at half cock.

half cock

¹ American  

[haf kok] / ˈhæf ˈkɒk /

noun

1. the position of the hammer of a firearm when held halfway to the fully retracted position by a mechanism that prevents it from being released and firing the gun when the trigger is pulled.

---

half-cock ² American  

[haf-kok, hahf-] / ˈhæfˈkɒk, ˈhɑf- /

verb (used with object)

1. to set the hammer of (a firearm) at half cock.

---

half-cock British  

noun

1. on a single-action firearm, a halfway position in which the hammer can be set for safety; in this position the trigger is cocked by the hammer which cannot reach the primer to fire the weapon

2. 1. to fail as a result of inadequate preparation or premature starting

   2. to act or function prematurely

---

Etymology

Origin of half cock¹

First recorded in 1695–1705

Origin of half-cock²

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Then it was not Dickinson's, but Jackson's, pistol that stopped at , half cock.

From Time Magazine Archive

When three hours are up, the regulators are pulled back and all burners lit at half cock.

From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.

“She has been now fooling me for six years;” and as he concluded this sentence, Mr Vanslyperken and Snarleyyow had reached the taffrail, and the dog raised his tail to the half cock.

From Snarley-yow or The Dog Fiend by Marryat, Frederick

That operation, as every one knows, produces two sounds or clicks, one when the hammer reaches the half cock, and the other when it comes to the full cock.

From The Oaths, Signs, Ceremonies and Objects of the Ku-Klux-Klan. A Full Expose. By A Late Member by Anonymous

This done he brought his rifle to a half cock, and making sure that his cartridges were within reach, he knelt down with the muzzle of his gun covering the trail.

From Lost in the Ca?on by Calhoun, Alfred R.