go hard or go home

present singular third person goes hard or goes home · participle present going hard or going home · past went hard or went home · participle past gone hard or gone home

1. imperativeoftenusuallyhobbiesTo face a challenge by making a bold, superior effort, lest one give up and forgo the opportunity.

   Near-synonyms: go big or go home, go all the way, go for broke, do or die, fish or cut bait, put up or shut up, shit or get off the pot, get big or get out, rise to the occasion

   4 more examples

   "Probably top five I would have to do, I’m guessing, to get into the Tour Championship. So it’s either that or a couple weeks off. Go hard or go home."

   2009 September 10, Larry Dorman, “Golf: Players Competing With a Sense of Urgency”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Nov 2015

   He strikes me as more of a go hard or go home athlete, an impression reinforced by reports of aggressive and competitive behaviour.

   2013 August 19, Catriona Menzies-Pike, “Does being a fitness fanatic make you a good politician?”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 17 Nov 2015

   Those kind of predictions are for the weak. We believe in going hard or going home. So these are real predictions—not probabilities.

   2014 October 3, Jordan Heath-Rawlings, “Unlikely Predictions: Eastern Conference”, in sportsnet.ca, Canada, retrieved 17 Nov 2015

   Members of the Newcastle University trampolining team went hard or went home when they took part in a 24-hour sponsored bounceathon.

   2015 January, Edward Jones, “Fundraising efforts had us bouncing off the wall”, in The University Paper: Newcastle Edition, UK, retrieved 17 Nov 2015, page 39

   Synonyms: go big or go home, go all the way, go for broke, do or die, fish or cut bait, put up or shut up, shit or get off the pot, get big or get out