Half Cocked
Meaning
To be less than fully prepared.
Example
in halfcocked demanding a raise, you Before you go better think through what you are going to say.
Origin
Cocked refers to the action of cocking a gun. Interestingly the term cocking a gun comes from flintlock muskets of 17th century, the hammer was very ornate and resembled a rooster (a cock).
The phrase was originally going off halfcocked.
The half cock position of the cock on a flint or cap lock weapon was a safe position to which the cock was drawn to permit access to the priming pan or to permit capping (cap lock).
The cock could be placed in the half cock position while, hopefully, not risking having the weapon go off accidentally.
Pulling the trigger of a flintlock at half cock will not fire the weapon. The hammer, which contains the flint, will not strike the frizzen with sufficient force to produce a spark and the primer charge in the pan will not be ignited.
