From the Get-Go

From the get-go means from the beginning.  An easy way to remember this is to think of it as get going.  However, the history of this phrase is a little more complex.

Example:  I have been producing good work at this job from the get-go.
Example:  This projected was doomed from the get-go. 

From the get-go is similar to, and interchangeable with, from the word go.  This is a likely source as from the word go is older and was more popular than from the get-goGet-go appears to have sprung up in the 1960s and reached a peak in popularity in the late 80s and 90s.  It was used a lot in sports journalism.

It also appears that from the get-go came from black American vernacular.  An alternative form of get-go is git-go.  The first appearance of from the git-go was written by Cade Bambera, a civil rights activist in 1966.  It is possible that the phrase had used in spoken language for years before then.

Finally, I have also seen today’s phrase associated with getting someone’s goat.  I really don’t see the connection, but I thought I would mention it.

 

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Reference:
https://www.deseret.com/1996/11/24/19278907/from-the-get-go-phrase-came-from-american-blacks

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