Meaning
Risk everything in an all-out attempt to succeed. Current informal idiom Regional use: Hawaii, then the wider United States.
Origin
The phrase arose in Hawaiian Pidgin, now more precisely called Hawaii Creole English, from the gambling image of risking bankruptcy. It is documented in Hawaii in a 1935 song title and in 1937-1938 descriptions of local speech. The Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team adopted it as a motto during World War II and helped carry it into general U.S. use, but did not coin it.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- go-for-broke
- going for broke
- let's go for broke
Usage Examples
- With one lap left, the cyclist went for broke on the steepest climb.
- Rather than patch the old shop, they went for broke and rebuilt it.