Dictionary

go for broke en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From Hawaiian Pidgin craps slang, meaning “to wager everything on one roll”: one would be broke, i.e. bankrupt, if one lost. Popularized by the movie Go for Broke! (1951), which is named for the 442nd Infantry Regiment’s unit motto.

Meanings

1. To wager everything.
2. (idiomatic) To try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.
   • Going for broke, the BRB said that Edinburgh-Aberdeen and Hull-Doncaster-Leeds should be considered [for electrification], along with Plymouth-Penzance and Crewe-Holyhead, all to be in place by 2001. Norman Fowler's reply was short and to the point: Sorry, no. 2024 January 10, Howard Johnston, “Launched for enthusiasts - now it's for everyone”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 29:
   • But Mr. Trump’s team went for broke, deciding not to seek a jury instruction that would have permitted jurors to find that Mr. Trump committed a misdemeanor rather than a felony. 2024 May 30, Renato Mariotti, “How Trump’s Team Blew It”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • Well, we shot the line and we went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus In a chartreuse microbus. 1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:
   • These shoeless gladiators "shoot the works" or as they themselves term it "go for broke" in each game. They battle for every inch ... 1931 September 19, "Loui", “Want a Lot of Action? See Barefoot Games”, in Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, HI, page 11:

Forms

Relateds

go for the burn · go for it · here goes nothing · go all out

Translations (17)

es echar el resto (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · fi laittaa kaikki peliin (to wager everything) · pl iść na całość (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · sh sve uložiti na jednu kartu (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · de alles auf eine Karte setzen (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · pl stawiać wszystko na jedną kartę (to wager everything) · sv satsa allt på ett kort (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · sh sve staviti na kocku (to wager everything) · pl pójść na całość (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · it tentare il tutto per tutto (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · fi yrittää kaikkensa (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · sh igrati na sve ili ništa (to wager everything) · fr tenter le tout pour le tout (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · pl postawić wszystko na jedną kartę (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · pl stawiać wszystko na jedną kartę (to try everything possible in a final attempt) · pl postawić wszystko na jedną kartę (to wager everything) · de alles aufs Spiel setzen (to wager everything)