Eddie would go

phrase

Said of challenging surfing conditions, often as an encouragement.

Meanings

phrase
  1. HawaiihobbiesSaid of challenging surfing conditions, often as an encouragement.

    Just imagine what it must feel like to make it out of one of those Teahupoo tubes? ¶ *THAT'S* why we continue our quest and challenge. ¶ Eddie would go. ¶ (and we're right behind you Eddie)

    2000 April 27, m@rk, “Re: Whats it worth?”, in alt.surfing (Usenet)
    3 more examples

    We'd bodysurf Pounders, north shore areas, Pupukea... I remember dolphins ( or would that be porpoises?) alongside us in most every wave, which would many times drop us onto the sand with a thud, knocking the wind outa us! Then, like the hardy keiki o ka aina buggahs we were, go right back in for more punishment! Eddie would go, and so, to an extent would us keiki!

    2000 August 16, Alkahuna Kekaula Kamauoha, “Re: Screened Lanais/Porches?”, in soc.culture.hawaii (Usenet)

    While they debated over the safety of the surfers, big-wave maverick Mark Foo looked out into the maelstrom of waves and whitewater and nonchalantly told one cameraman, “Eddie would go.” The saying stuck, and it eventually became popular in the Islands and in the international board-riding community.

    [2002, Stuart Holmes Coleman, Eddie Would Go: The Story of Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian Hero and Pioneer of Big Wave Surfing, New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 255

    I guess we could've easily called it a day and left, but when you drive an hour to surf, you gotta go. Eddie would go, right? OK, maybe not in waist-high slop with fifty-degree air and water temps, but, I mean, like, if he were a NH surfer, he would go, wouldn't he?

    2002 June 16, Atticus Fisher, “Surf Report: Finding Gems In Shit”, in alt.surfing (Usenet)

Origin

Named after Hawaiian waterman Eddie Aikau (1946–1978).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Eddie would go. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eddie%20would%20go

MLA

“Eddie would go.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eddie%20would%20go. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Eddie would go,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eddie%20would%20go.

Source: Eddie would go on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.