Link to November 21 Boston Globe article, "It's totally gonzo. Did Southie slang inspire Hunter S. Thompson to label his journalism? A historian has cast doubt on that story".
Excerpt: In South Boston, there’s a word they’ve long used on the street corners to describe a particular type of madman. Not your run-of-the-mill madman, mind you. No, this term is reserved for those who use craziness as a form of self-expression, who push it too far just to push it.
Forty years ago, unbeknownst to the people of Southie, “gonzo’’ left the neighborhood on the back of a soon-to-be-famous writer — Hunter S. Thompson — who adopted it as the name for his signature style of journalism.
The word went global. It’s in the dictionary. It’s used to describe a style of marketing and a genre of pornography. It’s why that Muppet is named Gonzo.
But now, on this unnoticed anniversary, “gonzo’’ may be taken from the people of Southie again, this time by a historian who claims the word actually originates with a New Orleans musician.
Link to "What is Gonzo? The etymology of an urban legend", by Dr Martin Hirst, School of Journalism & Communication, University of Queensland.
The editors at Merriam-Webster believe there's not enough solid evidence to weigh in on the etymology of 'gonzo'.
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