halfcock

halfcock is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 1 sense. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.To set the cock of (a firearm) at the first notch. To go off halfcocked. (a) To be discharged prematurely, or with the trigger at half cock; -- said of a firearm. (b) To do or say something without due thought or care. [Colloq. or Low]

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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