hip hip hooray

Questions

What does hip hip hooray mean?

An exclamation of congratulations or celebration, especially in response to a call for three cheers for the person.

Where does hip hip hooray come from?

Recorded as far back as 1803. The word hip was in use then as a meaningless syllable to solicit someone's attention. Hooray (or hurrah) traces back to 1686, and also had no specific meaning, used instead to solicit a person's attention. A folk etymology for this interjection suggests it comes from the anti-Semitic German Hep-Hep riots in 1819, however many examples of Hip Hip exist in English prior to 1819, for example: * 1813, Edmond Temple, The Life of Pill Garlick, London, page 243: The first toast “Success to Pill Garlick lick and his saucy crew,” was drank with nine times nine, hip! hip! hip! and a hoorra! The tumult was excessive.

How to pronounce hip hip hooray

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hip hip hooray”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hip hip hooray”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “hip hip hooray” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.