gonzo

adjective

- outlandishly unconventional, bizarre, or exaggerated in style or behavior.

- an unconventional, wildly personal style of journalism where the writer becomes part of the action.

- unconventional, eccentric, or wildly unrestrained; specifically applied to journalism marked by personal involvement.

- relating to or denoting journalism of an exaggerated, highly subjective, and fictionalised style.

Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN



The word appeared in American English around 1970–71, associated with journalist Hunter S. Thompson and the phrase “gonzo journalism”. Thompson himself said he got it from Boston editor Bill Cardoso, who had described Thompson's writing as “pure gonzo.”

The deeper origin is uncertain. Possible ancestors include Italian gonzo, meaning a fool or simpleton, and Spanish ganso, literally “goose”, with a figurative sense of a dull or foolish person. The proposed connection ultimately reaches Germanic Gans — but dictionaries label this derivation uncertain.

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HUNTER S. THOMPSON’S DAILY ROUTINE


- 3:00 PM — Rise


- 3:05 PM — Chivas Regal with the morning papers, Dunhills 


- 3:45 PM — Cocaine 


- 3:50 PM — Another glass of Chivas, Dunhill 


- 4:05 PM — First cup of coffee, Dunhill 


- 4:15 PM — Cocaine 


- 4:16 PM — Orange juice, Dunhill 


- 4:30 PM — Cocaine 


- 4:54 PM — Cocaine 


- 5:05 PM — Cocaine 


- 5:11 PM — Coffee, Dunhills 


- 5:30 PM — More ice in the Chivas 


- 5:45 PM — Cocaine, etc., etc.

- 6:00 PM — Grass to take the edge off the day

- 7:05 PM — Lunch at Woody Creek Tavern (Heineken, two margaritas, coleslaw, taco salad, double order of fried onion rings, carrot cake, ice cream, bean fritter, Dunhills, another Heineken, cocaine, and a Chivas snow cone for the ride home)

- 9:00 PM — Starts snorting cocaine seriously


- 10:00 PM — Drops acid

- 11:00 PM — Chartreuse, cocaine, grass


- 11:30 PM — Cocaine, etc., etc.


- 12:00 AM — Ready to write


- 12:05 – 6:00 AM — Writing Session (Chartreuse, cocaine, grass, Chivas, coffee, Heineken, clove cigarettes, grapefruit, Dunhills, orange juice, gin, continuous blue movies)


- 6:00 AM — The hot tub: champagne, Dove Bars, fettuccine Alfredo


- 8:00 AM — Halcion*


- 8:20 AM — Sleep



*Triazolam: a potent, fast-acting prescription sedative belonging to the benzodiazepine class. In this context, it refers to a sleeping pill used at the end of a multi-hour barrage of stimulants (cocaine, coffee) and alcohol to forcefully induce sleep and terminate the binge.

Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005)

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SYNONYMS



bizarre, eccentric, extreme, freakish, GONZO, madcap, off-the-wall, outlandish, outrageous, over-the-top, unconventional, unhinged, unrestrained, wacky, wild, zany



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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“For a deeper dive into GONZO, check out William McKeen’s — Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson”

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