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gonzo

[gon-zoh]

Origin

adjective

(of journalism, reportage, etc.) filled with bizarre or subjective ideas, commentary, or the like.

crazy; eccentric.

noun

eccentricity, weirdness, or craziness.

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Gonzo is always a great word to know.

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any remarkable or outstanding person or thing

a state, atmosphere, or mood of ease and gentle relaxation

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Origin:
1970–75, Americanism; apparently first used in the phrase Gonzo journalism by U.S. journalist Hunter S. Thompson (born 1939); perhaps < Italian: simpleton, one easily duped (of uncertain origin) or < Spanish ganso a lazy or dull person, literally, goose (< Germanic; see goose)

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To gonzo

Collins

World English Dictionary

gonzo (ˈɡɒnzəʊ)

—*adj*
1.	wild or crazy
2.	(of journalism) explicitly including the writer's feelings at the time of witnessing the events or undergoing the experiences written about

—n , gonzos
3.	a wild or crazy person

[C20: perhaps from Italian, literally: fool, or Spanish ganso idiot, bumpkin (literally: goose)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

gonzo

1971, Amer.Eng., in Hunter S. Thompson's phrase gonzo journalism, from It. gonzo "simpleton, blockhead." Thompson in 1972 said he got it from editor Bill Cardosa, and explained it as "some Boston word for weird, bizarre."

Slang Dictionary

gonzo definition

[ˈgɑnzo]

n.
a silly or foolish person. : Some gonzo is on the phone asking for the president of the universe.
mod.
crazy. : Who drew this gonzo picture of me?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Matching Quote

"Gonzo journalism ... is a style of "reporting" based on William Faulkner's idea that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism—and the best journalists have always known this.... True gonzo reporting needs the talents of a master journalist, the eye of an artist/photographer and the heavy balls of an actor. Because the writer must be a participant in the scene, while he's writing it—or at least taping it, or even sketching it. Or all three. Probably the closest analogy to the ideal would be a film director/producer who writes his own scripts, does his own camera work and somehow manages to film himself in action, as the protagonist or at least a main character."

-Hunter S. Thompson

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gonzo definition