"Gung Ho" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 06/05/2021

0:00 - How to Say, “Gung ho.”
0:15 - Examples of “Gung ho.”
0:55 - Meaning of “Gung ho.”
1:08 - Origin of “Gung ho.”
2:54 - More Examples of “Gung ho.”
3:44 - Conclusion

“Gung ho.”

If someone says that they are “gung ho” about something, it means that they are enthusiastic, eager, zealous about it.

“I’m very gung ho about our roadtrip - I’ve been looking forward to it for ages!” your friend might tell you the night before your trip.

Maybe your wife has been watching gardening videos non-stop, “You’re very gung ho about starting your first garden, eh?”

“It seems that everyone is gung ho about helping to clean up this beach,” a volunteer leader might say during a clean up event.

As you can tell, to be “gung ho” about something means to be keen, exuberant, motivated about it.

The origin of the idiom, “gung ho”, lies with a Chinese term meaning, “to work together”, which in turn was an acronym for Chinese Industrial Cooperatives…

… various organizations started to promote grassroots economic development in China during the 1930s and 40s, before the takeover of Communism.

“Gung ho” is an Americanism, making its way into American English via the United States Marine Corps; used originally to rally troops to work together, to work in harmony.

We are often gung ho about things in our lives which seem exciting or promising, and these things often turn out to be just what we thought they would be.

On the other hand, we are often the opposite of gung ho about many other things in our lives, only begrudgingly doing them because we are forced or coerced…

… not realizing that often, the things we were not at all gung ho about have a great impact on us, on our families, on our communities, on our world.

“I know it’s hard to be gung ho about hours and hours of administrative work, but it’s necessary in order for your endeavour to be successful,” your dad might be giving you advice.

Perhaps you’re talking to your mom on the phone, “I’m very gung ho about you coming back to live in the same town, honey!”

“I’m so happy to see that everyone is so gung ho about my art,” you might say on the opening day of your art exhibition at a local gallery.

So, the next time you want to say that someone is energetic, enthusiastic, exuberant, excited about something, just say that they’re “gung ho”!

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References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gung_ho#:~:text=Gung%20ho%20%2F%CB%88%C9%A1%CA%8C,%3B%20pinyin%3A%20G%C5%8Dngy%C3%A8%20H%C3%A9zu%C3%B2sh%C3%A8).