Meanings
alternative go woke, go broke
- informalneologismgovernmentBusinesses that focus on social activism to align themselves with social justice are liable to lose customers.
This led to the biting critical slogan “Get woke, go broke” to characterise the commercial failure of “woke” (“politically enlightened”) policies in an open marketplace.
2019, Alexander Adams, Culture War: Art, Identity Politics and Cultural Entryism2 more examples
According to Ringo, the convention then pushed its conservative members out of its planning committee, attendance dropped over years, and it’s now defunct. “Get woke, go broke,” he says of any organization who bows to SJW pressure.
2018 April 17, Jon del Arroz, “Author John Ringo Responds to SJW Assault That Led to Sci-Fi Convention Ban”, in Dangerous, archived from the original on 17 Apr 2018Get woke, go broke isn’t just about money, it’s about credibility and truth. These people have been broken by their own pride, their sense of entitlement, and their own disdain of anyone who does not agree with them.
2018 May 19, David Prentice, “Code Red: The Coming Eruption”, in American ThinkerAntonyms: go fash, lose cash
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbBusinesses that focus on social activism to align themselves with social justice are liable to lose customers.
Origin
Attributed to American author John Ringo.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French éveillé mais fauché, devenez éveillé et soyez fauché
- éveillé mais fauchébusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
- devenez éveillé et soyez fauchébusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
- trop de politiquement correct c'est économiquement incorrectbusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
Italian fai il risvegliato e sei rovinato
- fai il risvegliato e sei rovinatobusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
Portuguese quem lacra não lucra
- quem lacra não lucrabusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
Spanish hazte progre hazte pobre, hazte progre y vuélvete pobre
- hazte progre hazte pobrebusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
- hazte progre y vuélvete pobrebusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
- ponte pobre hazte pobrebusinesses that attempt to align themselves with social justice causes are liable to lose customers
Cite this entry
get woke, go broke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20woke%2C%20go%20broke
“get woke, go broke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20woke%2C%20go%20broke. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get woke, go broke,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20woke%2C%20go%20broke.
Source: get woke, go broke on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.