take a message to Garcia
take a message to Garcia
To show initiative in undertaking important or requisite tasks in the face of difficulties and/or without requiring specific instructions on how to do so. It refers to the essay "Message to Garcia," published in 1899 by Elbert Hubbard, in which a lieutenant named Andrew Rowan undertakes establishing communication with Cuban rebel leader Calixto García to create an alliance in case of war with Spain. One should always aspire to be the type of employee who will take a message to Garcia, for it says more about you than merely doing what you're told.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive
According to language expert Charles Earle Funk, "to
take a message to Garcia" was for years a popular American slang expression for taking initiative.
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