half cock
/ˈhæfˌkɑk/
noun
- The position of a gun's hammer when it is partly raised and not ready to fire.
- The old revolver's hammer was stuck at half-cock and wouldn't move.
- The safety manual warned never to carry a firearm at half-cock.
- He carefully set the hammer to half-cock before cleaning the rifle.
adjective
- Not fully prepared or thought out; done without proper planning.
- His half-cock proposal was rejected because it lacked details.
- A half-cock plan is worse than no plan at all.
- They launched the product at half-cock and had to fix many bugs later.
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