Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The position of the cock or hammer of a gun when it is elevated only half-way and retained by the first notch. See
cock . - To cock the hammer of, as a gun, so that it rests at the first notch.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To set the cock of (a firearm) at the first notch.
- transitive verb [Colloq. or Low] To do or say something without due thought or care.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun confusion resulting from lack of preparation
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Gee, usually you're the one that keeps me from going off at halfcock.
The Boy Scout Automobilists or, Jack Danby in the Woods Robert Maitland
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There you are; that is characteristic of laymen, going off at halfcock.
The Work of the Rockefeller Foundation. Health as an International Bond 1920
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