Hip, hip, hurrah!

Hip, hip, hurrah!

For some Victorian flair, opt for the ever-cheery hip, hip, hurrah! This expression of uncertain origin surfaced in the 1800s, though the exclamation hip had been used since the mid-1700s. Hiprepeated three times was used as a noun in the 1800s to refer to a collective cheer. In an 1857 book called Glasgow and Its Clubs, the author discusses “the loud roar of harmonious ‘hip, hip, hips.’” But let’s not forget abouthurrah. This exclamation dates from the late 1600s and is very similar to shouts in German, Danish, and Swedish. Hurrah might have started off as a battle cry before it spread into general usage.