half cock
the position of the hammer of a firearm when held halfway to the fully retracted position by a mechanism that prevents it from being released and firing the gun when the trigger is pulled.: Compare full cock.
Origin of half cock
1Words Nearby half cock
Other definitions for half-cock (2 of 2)
to set the hammer of (a firearm) at half cock.
Origin of half-cock
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use half cock in a sentence
The hammer of the Tennesseean's pistol stopped at half-cock.
South American Fights and Fighters | Cyrus Townsend BradyHe saw Stacy not thirty yards before him with his rifle at half-cock.
The Three Partners | Bret HarteThey get smart raps from the coastguard chaps with their blunderbuss fixed half-cock.
The Battle of the Bays | Owen SeamanLike a gun discharged at half-cock, the ball leaped from his hand and came whistling toward the batter.
The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High | Leslie W. QuirkThere is no putting to half-cock but only slipping the safety on or off.
The Modern Pistol and How to Shoot It | Walter Winans
British Dictionary definitions for half-cock
on a single-action firearm, a halfway position in which the hammer can be set for safety; in this position the trigger is cocked by the hammer which cannot reach the primer to fire the weapon
go off at half-cock or go off half-cocked
to fail as a result of inadequate preparation or premature starting
to act or function prematurely
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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