half-cocked

[haf-kokt, hahf-]

See more synonyms for half-cocked on Thesaurus.com

adjective

(of a firearm) at the position of half cock.
lacking mature consideration or enough preparation; ill-considered or ill-prepared; half-baked.

Idioms

go off half-cocked, to act or happen prematurely: He went off half-cocked and told everyone the news.Also go off at half cock.

Origin of half-cocked

First recorded in 1800–10

half-cock

[haf-kok, hahf-]

verb (used with object)

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

Origin of half-cock

First recorded in 1825–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for half-cocked

hasty, ill-considered, untimely, tenderfoot, green, rookie, half-baked, inopportune, precipitate, previous, half-cocked, overhasty, unskilled, dabbling, unaccomplished

Examples from the Web for half-cocked

Contemporary Examples of half-cocked

But here again, Perry is not the half-cocked yahoo his critics assume.
Rick Perry’s Secret Weapon
Michelle Cottle
August 29, 2011

Historical Examples of half-cocked

Robin opened one eye—the one toward the house—and half-cocked an ear.
Harper's Young People, August 24, 1880
Various
I've told you they won't go off half-cocked as long as Westfall is on the job.
Spacehounds of IPC
Edward Elmer Smith
Alone, she might have gone off half-cocked in an emotional tizzy.
Highways in Hiding
George Oliver Smith
"If you're going off half-cocked, then we both are, Dave," he said quietly.
Dave Dawson at Casablanca
Robert Sydney Bowen
He is the most level-headed member of 162 the family, and would not fly off half-cocked.
Molly Brown's Post-Graduate Days
Nell Speed

British Dictionary definitions for half-cocked

half-cocked

adjective

(of a firearm) at half-cock

half-cock

noun

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
go off at half-cock or go off half-cocked
1. to fail as a result of inadequate preparation or premature starting
2. to act or function prematurely

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