APAD: neck or nothing

Neck or nothing 

Taking a huge risk or making a great effort, often with everything on the line, to achieve a goal. This idiomatic expression meaning to act with complete abandon and recklessness, to risk everything in a decisive attempt to achieve a goal. 

The term comes from horse racing. A jockey taking a "neck or nothing" approach would make a final, desperate push to win the race by the smallest possible margin, or be completely beaten. Today, "neck or nothing" describes any situation where someone is willing to take a huge risk, dedicating all their resources and effort to an endeavor. 

 

When someone says "neck or nothing," they are expressing a commitment to total effort and risk, where the outcome will be complete success or total failure.