Word of the Day: Headlong

head-long / ˈhedˌlôNG adjective

1. done suddenly and quickly

As a boy holding to a post or pillar whirls about it with headlong speed without any fear of falling, so perform your worldly duties, fixing your hold firmly upon God, and you will be free from danger. Ramakrishna, 1836-1886  

2. done with the head leading; headfirst

There is a feeling exactly like that one has upon a switchback – of a helpless headlong motion. from ‘The Time Machine’ by H. G. Wells, 1866-1946  

3. impetuous; rash

Love is the tyrant of the heart; it darkens Reason, confounds discretion; deaf to Counsel It runs a headlong course to desperate madness. John Ford, 1586-1639   adverb  

1. rashly; recklessly

He who rushes headlong into love will fare worse than if he had cast himself from a precipice. Plautus, c. 254-184 BC  

2. with the head leading; headfirst

…I leaped headlong into the Sea, and thereby have become more acquainted with the Soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice. John Keats, 1795-1821  

3. without delay; with great haste

When the whole world is running headlong towards the precipice, one who walks in the opposite direction is looked at as being crazy.

1. S. Eliot, 1888-1965