go for broke

Meaning

Verb

• To wager everything.
• To try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.

Origin

• From Hawaiian Pidgin craps slang, meaning “to wager everything on one roll”: one would be broke, i.e. bankrupt, if one lost.
• Popularized by the movie Go for Broke! (1951), which is named for the 442nd Infantry Regiment’s unit motto.