{"id":4423,"date":"2022-06-13T17:17:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T17:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4423"},"modified":"2022-06-13T17:17:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-13T17:17:39","slug":"go-rogue-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/go-rogue-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Rogue \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a way to describe someone\u2019s behavior of going against the norm? You could say they decided to \u201cgo rogue<\/em>\u201d and turn their back on conventional society. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cgo rogue<\/em>\u201d means that someone is going against the grain or against the established order that everyone else follows. The phrase implies that you turn your back on what other people are doing and do your own thing, regardless of what people think. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It can have a bad or good connotation, depending on the context of the conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If someone goes rogue<\/em>, they refuse to do what you tell them, and they don\u2019t listen to your instructions. They may fail to follow a script or show independent behavior from other people in their social group. To \u201cgo rogue<\/em>\u201d can refer to people or animals, and it can mean the person or animal shows erratic or dangerous behavior.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cThat government official decided to go rogue. Now he\u2019s joining the opposition party and spilling the beans on all the internal knowledge he has of their operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe agent decided to go rogue and went dark three hours ago. There are reports of him surfacing in the city twenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids decided to go rogue, and we found them playing in the back room with all the paint supplies on the floor around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s our top salesperson, and he decides to go rogue. Why go away from the script when it made him his fortune?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened to John. He decided to go rogue and didn\u2019t want to listen to our advice. I hope things work out for him, and I wish him the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did the operator go rogue? I think it was because someone told him about the injustices going on in the country's eastern region, and he wanted to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Origin<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cgo rogue\u201d originates from elephant behavior. Dominant males would sometime separate themselves from the herd after battling with the alpha bull. These elephants exhibit wild, erratic behavior and uneven temperaments.<\/p>\n

The term has been around since 1835, and the earliest citations of the expression in print come from the early 1900s. Some of the top examples of the use of the phrase \u201cgo rogue\u201d include the following.<\/p>\n

\u201cItu gajah dya jehat! (That elephant\u2019s going rogue)\u201d remarked the head axeman, shaking his head. (Published in the Boys\u2019 Life, January, 1924).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an elephant goes rogue he never reforms,\u201d said the circus man. (Published in the Springfield Republican, June, 1928).<\/p>\n

There is always a reason why these giant pachyderms go rogue, and here in this report we seemed to be able to define this one clearly. (Published in the Dallas Morning News, May, 1931).<\/p>\n