gonzoadj.n.

1971 H. S. Thompson in Rolling Stone 11 Nov. 38/4 But what was the story? Nobody had bothered to say. So we would have to drum it up on our own. Free Enterprise. The American Dream. Horatio Alger gone mad on drugs in Las Vegas. Do it now: pure Gonzo journalism.

1972 in R. Pollack Stop Presses (1975) 184 I ask Hunter to explain... Just what is Gonzo Journalism?.. ‘Gonzo all started with Bill Cardosa,..after I wrote the Kentucky Derby piece for Scanlan's..the first time I realized you could write different. And..I got this note from Cardosa saying, ‘That was pure Gonzo journalism!’.. Some Boston word for weird, bizarre.’

1974 National Rev. (U.S.) 21 June 707/1 Politics, in any case, has nothing to do with this gonzo record, which transcends mundane concerns and speaks, as rock henceforth must speak, to universal themes alone.

1978 People Weekly 2 Oct. 95/3 Rock's gonzo guitarist Ted Nugent..began grandstanding, chomping on Nancy's booted leg and, when she didn't kick, tussling with her on a sofa. Finally, he drew a blood-curdling yelp when he whipped out a knife and laughingly sliced her blouse up the front.

1980 Newsweek 16 June 38/2 ‘Gonzo Station’, the irreverent nickname weary U.S. sailors have given the Indian Ocean.

1985 New Yorker 22 July 16/2 He has a small, weird triumph with his gonzo psycho docudrama.

1972 J. A. Lucas in More Nov. 4 (title) The Prince of Gonzo.

1980 Newsweek 12 May 93/1 As the chief and only true gonzo, Thompson, in his famous ‘Fear and Loathing’ reportage for Rolling Stone magazine, wasn't just a passive observer but played his own freaked-out part as unofficial Tom O'Bedlam to the events he covered.

1977 Custom Car Nov. 43/2 To make sure I wouldn't make too big a gonzo of myself,..I was connected by intercom to the commander who was perched up in the turret.