half-cocked

American  

[haf-kokt] / ˈhæfˈkɒkt /

adjective

1. (of a firearm) at the position of half cock.

2. lacking mature consideration or enough preparation; ill-considered or ill-prepared; half-baked.

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idioms

1. go off half-cocked, to act or happen prematurely: Also go off at half cock.

   He went off half-cocked and told everyone the news.

half-cocked British  

adjective

1. (of a firearm) at half-cock

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Etymology

Origin of half-cocked

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

half-cocked

To Rafael’s bildungsroman amid half-cocked terrorists and a love triangle with their leaders, add a spy-novel parody, a kaleidoscopic Christ narrative, a battery of literary references and a portrait of Cuban life under socialism.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022

Others were also unenthusiastic, with Henry Hitchings giving it two stars in The Evening Standard, and The Hollywood Reporter describing it as "half-cocked".

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2018

Mrs. Ambrose, it continued, “helped put an end to the image of the D.C. Council as a refuge for small-bore politicians given to going off half-cocked on marginal issues.”

From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2017

“I think it is absolutely essential that we stay focused on how, in this transitional period, nobody loses their head, nobody goes off half-cocked, people don’t start ginning up scatterbrained or revengeful premises,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2016

Quackenbush took advantage of a break in this line of conversation to announce that he would certainly stay at Devon through the year, however half-cocked others might rush off.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Related Words

• hasty
• ill-considered
• untimely