War, law & ruleMyths & disputes

gung-ho

Gōnghé was a short name for the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives; US Marine Evans Carlson read it as 'work together' and made it his battalion's motto, and it became English for over-eager.

Weakest linkCertain

The story you may have heard

That gung ho is an ordinary Chinese phrase meaning 'work together'. It is an abbreviation of a cooperative's name; Carlson's reading of its two characters was his own gloss.

The road to English

1938Mandarin Chinese

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

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