go hog wild
(redirected from they have gone hog-wild)go hog wild
To behave in an uncontrolled manner, often due to excitement. The crowd had been cheering, but they really went hog wild once the lead singer took the stage. Your students will go hog wild if you never discipline them.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
go hog wild
Rur. to behave wildly. Have a good time at the party, but don't go hog wild. The teacher cannot control a class that is going hog wild.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
go hog wild
Become crazy with excitement, as in The crowd went hog wild as soon as the band began to play. Why this expression should allude to the craziness of hogs is no longer known. [Colloquial; c. 1900]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
go hog wild
AMERICAN, INFORMALIf you go hog wild, you behave in an uncontrolled and excited way. Note: A hog is a pig. You can't let teenagers go completely hog wild. People aren't going hog-wild, but they are at least starting to spend. Note: Hogs can sometimes become uncontrolled and aggressive.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
go ˈhog-wild
(American English, informal) behave in an uncontrolled or excited manner: Just because your Mom and Dad aren’t here it’s no reason to go hog-wild.See also: go
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
go hog wild, to
To go berserk; to go crazy with excitement. An Americanism dating from about 1905, this expression is a mysterious metaphor. Possibly it refers to the manic struggles of animals being taken away for slaughter, or perhaps it once meant unseemly enthusiasm, hogs being associated mostly with negative characteristics.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
go hog wild
Become overly excited or enthusiastic. Why the hog should have been singled out remains a mystery, unless porcine greediness was somehow connected with an overwhelming desire for excitement. In any event, the phrase has now been overshadowed by “going ape-shit” (which raises even more intriguing simian speculation).
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price