have-a-go hero

noun

An ordinary member of the public who intervenes, often at personal risk, to stop a troublemaker, hooligan or ne'er-do-well in the act of committing a crime.

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Meanings

nounhave-a-go hero (plural have-a-go heroes)

plural have-a-go heroes

  1. UKinformalAn ordinary member of the public who intervenes, often at personal risk, to stop a troublemaker, hooligan or ne'er-do-well in the act of committing a crime.

    Jack Straw today admitted that he was "always uneasy" about the government's refusal to offer greater protection for have-a-go-heroes as he explained plans to review the laws on self-defence.

    2007 September 27, Deborah Summers, “Straw reveals past as have-a-go hero”, in The Guardian
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“have-a-go hero.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have-a-go%20hero. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have-a-go hero,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have-a-go%20hero.

Source: have-a-go hero on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.