cheer

Bronx cheer

A sputtering noise made by pressing the tongue and lips together, used to express either real or faux contempt, mockery, or displeasure; a raspberry. Primarily heard in US. The fans collectively gave the opposing team a Bronx cheer when their relief pitcher walked onto the field.
See also: Bronx, cheer

cheer (one) to the echo

To vocally support or encourage one. Primarily heard in UK. The fans really cheered us to the echo in the championship game.
See also: cheer, echo

cheer for (someone or something)

To vocally support or encourage someone or something. Who are you cheering for in this match? The whole town came out to cheer for the high school football team in the championship game.
See also: cheer

cheer on

To support or encourage someone or something, often vocally. A noun or pronoun can be used between "cheer" and "on." I'm your mother—I'm going to cheer you on in anything you do! The whole town came out to cheer on the high school football team in the championship game.
See also: cheer, on

cheer up

1. To become happier or experience improvement in one's mood, especially when sad or discouraged. Typically used as an imperative. Come on, the project was not a total failure—cheer up! Cheer up, honey—tomorrow's another day. I hope Jenny cheers up. I've never seen her so down.
2. To cause one to become happier or experience improvement in one's mood, especially when sad or discouraged. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "cheer" and "up." I don't know how to cheer Paul up—he's been completely miserable since he found out he didn't get that job. Grandpa could always cheer up Sarah when she was sad about something.
See also: cheer, up

of good cheer

Filled with or characterized by mirth, happiness, and optimism. Now is the season of good cheer, a time to be with family and make merry. The production is very much of good cheer. If it fails to put a smile on your face, you are nothing but a grouch.
See also: cheer, good, of

what cheer

archaic A friendly greeting, roughly equivalent to "How are you?" What cheer, young Master Swinton? Faith, thou wert a mite smaller when last I beheld thee!
See also: cheer, what
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cheer for someone or something

to give a shout of encouragement for someone or something. Everyone cheered for the team. I cheered for the winning goal.
See also: cheer

cheer someone or something on

to encourage someone or a group to continue to do well, as by cheering. We cheered them on, and they won. We cheered on the team. Sam cheered Jane on.
See also: cheer, on

cheer someone up

to make a sad person happy. When Bill was sick, Ann tried to cheer him up by reading to him. Interest rates went up, and that cheered up all the bankers.
See also: cheer, up

cheer up

[for a sad person] to become happy. After a while, she began to cheer up and smile more. Cheer up! Things could be worse.
See also: cheer, up
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

cheer on

Encourage, as in The crowd was cheering on all the marathon runners. Originating in the 1400s simply as cheer, this usage was augmented by on in the early 1800s.
See also: cheer, on

cheer up

Become or make happy, raise the spirits of, as in This fine weather should cheer you up. This term may also be used as an imperative, as Shakespeare did ( 2 Henry IV, 4:4): "My sovereign lord, cheer up yourself." [Late 1500s]
See also: cheer, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a Bronx cheer

AMERICAN, INFORMAL
A Bronx cheer is a rude noise that you make by putting your lips together and blowing through them. He greeted the news with a loud Bronx cheer.
See also: Bronx, cheer

cheer someone to the echo

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED
If you cheer someone to the echo, you applaud them loudly for a long time. They cheered him to the echo, as they did every member of the cast.
See also: cheer, echo, someone
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

of good cheer

cheerful or optimistic. archaic
The exhortation to be of good cheer occurs in several passages of the New Testament in the Authorized Version of the Bible (for example in Matthew 9:2, John 16:33, and Acts 27:22). In Middle English, cheer had the meaning ‘face’. This sense of cheer is now obsolete, but the related senses of ‘countenance’ and ‘demeanour as reflected in the countenance’ survive in a number of phrases, including in good cheer and the archaic what cheer ? (how are you?).
See also: cheer, good, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

cheer on

v.
To encourage someone with or as if with cheers: The spectators cheered the runners on as they passed by. I always cheer on the team that is losing.
See also: cheer, on

cheer up

v.
1. To become happier or more cheerful: I cheered up once the weather got warmer.
2. To make someone happier or more cheerful: The fine spring day cheered me up. The hospital staged a musical to cheer up the sick patients.
See also: cheer, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

Bronx cheer

(ˈbrɑŋks ˈtʃir)
n. a rude noise made with the lips; a raspberry. The little air compressor in the corner of the parking lot made a noise like a Bronx cheer.
See also: Bronx, cheer
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

Bronx cheer

A raucous expression of displeasure. The sarcastic reference is to how spectators at sporting events in New York City's borough of the Bronx—at Yankee Stadium, for a notable example—let players on visiting teams, and umpires too, know what was on their mind. The classic “Bronx cheer” sound was produced by compressing the lips and blowing, which replicated the sound of passing wind. That noise was earlier called a raspberry (or raspberry tart, the British rhyming slang for “fart”), from which the word “razz” came.
See also: Bronx, cheer
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • Bronx
  • Bronx cheer
  • cheers
  • a Bronx cheer
  • blow a raspberry
  • blow a strawberry
  • raspberry
  • strawberry
  • give someone the raspberry
  • give the raspberry
References in periodicals archive
In Texas, for example, where cheerleading is not a sport, more than 23,000 students take part in competitive cheer.
Is cheerleading a sport? More schools are saying yes, pushing a new competitive spirit from the sidelines to the spotlight. (sports)
Do we cheer for the Presbyterian Church because of its doctrine, theology, beliefs ...
1,2,3,4, who are we for? Is our allegiance to our denomination deeper than cheering for a sports team?
School cheers tug at your heartstrings and stir a passion you didn't know you had in you.
'Take away the drummers, you take away the hype'
The cheer gear fueled speculation about whether it was part of North Koreans' propaganda efforts to justify the repressive regime.
North Koreans' cheer gear causes stir
Mrs Cheer faced some difficult decisions - such as disbanding the force's dedicated mounted section - in a bid to maintain policing numbers as far as possible while balancing the books.
FULFILLING the role [...]; WE SAY
Its Northeast Knockout Cheer competition is scheduled for Jan.
Cheer and dance events build momentum at DCU
The charity is calling for outgoing, enthusiastic people to join their volunteer cheering team, all you have yo do is look out for the runners and cheer them along the route towards the South Shields finishing line.
Cheer the great human race in the Great North Run
"We are thrilled to be working with the Cheer Channel again to be the home of 'First Crush' and to be able to share our gym and our athletes with the talented cast and crew of 'Secret Diary.' Our athletes are excited to be a part of the production and it is such great exposure for our athletes, gym, and organization to be working with the Cheer Channel," said Shelly Gramatky, Owner of Gymcheer USA.
Cheer Channel Announces GymCheer USA as Official Location of "First Crush"
The group will go down in the record books having shattered the former record which was set by 297 cheer leaders at the University of Memphis in November last year.
We've a lot to cheer about
District judge Stefan Underhill came in a suit filed by several Quinnipiac women's volleyball players, whose sport was eliminated in 2009 for budgetary reasons and replaced with a less-expensive competitive cheer team.
UO not concerned at cheer ruling
THREE CHEERS: Members of the Cheer Club show off their skills
Get into the spirit of cheerleading! Weekend
"When we go over there, they cheer when we miss," he said.
AZINGER STANDS BY ROW; THE RYDER CUP: DAY ONE ACTION FROM VALHALLA
Equally disconcerting, the squiggly, that flamboyant twist that is an integral part of the Wal-Mart cheer, the class leveler that once had Sam Walton or David Glass gyrating in competition with hourly associates for fluidity, grace and style, is a ritual with which most current store associates at Rogers are unfamiliar.
Wal-Mart without 'the cheer'
Some 300 young North Korean cheer girls, who stole the show at last fall's Pusan Asian Games with their show of patriotic support, suddenly became quiet when the Japanese and U.S.
N. Korean cheer group shuns Japan, U.S. teams at Universiade
The biggest cheer came when the coverage cut to Sweden going 1-0 up against Argentina.
FOOTBALL: Cheering drowns out school bell; WORLD CUP 2002