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The meaning and origin of the expression: Gung ho

Gung ho

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Gung ho'?

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Zealous and eager.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Gung ho'?

This is an adaptation of the Chinese kung - work, and ho - together.

Gung hoThe Anglicized term gung ho became widely known in English as a slogan that was adopted in WWII by the United States Marines under General Evans Carlson.

The New York Times Magazine reported this in 1942:

"Borrowing an idea from China, Carlson frequently has what he calls 'kung-hou' meetings... Problems are threshed out and orders explained."

The following year Life magazine reported:

"He [Carlson] told them [the Marines] of the motto of the Chinese Co-operatives, Gung Ho. It means Work Together... My motto caught on and they began to call themselves the Gung Ho Battalion."

The first record of gung ho in print was a little earlier. In October 1941, the Oakland Tribune reported a story about some captured short war films. This doesn't mention Carlson or the US Marines by name, but the films relate to their activities:

"Other shorts are 'Information Please' and 'Gung Ho' with Regan McCrary."

See other phrases that were coined in the USA.

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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