Dictionary

go hard or go home en · VERB

Meanings

1. (imperative, often, usually) To face a challenge by making a bold, superior effort, lest one give up and forgo the opportunity.
   • "Probably top five I would have to do, I’m guessing, to get into the Tour Championship. So it’s either that or a couple weeks off. Go hard or go home." 2009 September 10, Larry Dorman, “Golf: Players Competing With a Sense of Urgency”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Nov 2015:
   • Near-synonyms: go big or go home, go all the way, go for broke, do or die, fish or cut bait, put up or shut up, shit or get off the pot, get big or get out, rise to the occasion
   • He strikes me as more of a go hard or go home athlete, an impression reinforced by reports of aggressive and competitive behaviour. 2013 August 19, Catriona Menzies-Pike, “Does being a fitness fanatic make you a good politician?”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 17 Nov 2015:
   • Members of the Newcastle University trampolining team went hard or went home when they took part in a 24-hour sponsored bounceathon. 2015 January, Edward Jones, “Fundraising efforts had us bouncing off the wall”, in The University Paper: Newcastle Edition, UK, retrieved 17 Nov 2015, page 39:
   • Those kind of predictions are for the weak. We believe in going hard or going home. So these are real predictions—not probabilities. 2014 October 3, Jordan Heath-Rawlings, “Unlikely Predictions: Eastern Conference”, in sportsnet.ca, Canada, retrieved 17 Nov 2015:

Forms

Relateds

all-or-nothing thinking · double down · double or quits · all-or-nothing

Synonyms

go for broke · do or die · put up or shut up · get big or get out · shit or get off the pot · go big or go home · rise to the occasion · go all the way · fish or cut bait