Bronx cheer

Blowing a raspberry or making a Bronx cheer is to make a noise made to signify derision (and/or silliness), made by sticking out the tongue between the lips and blowing to make a sound reminiscent of flatulence. In the terminology of phonetics, this sound does not appear to have an official name, but might be characterized as an unvoiced linguolabial trill. It is never used in human language phonemically (i.e., to be used as a building block of words), but it is widely used across human cultures as well as by other primates. ^{[citation needed]}

Nomenclature varies: in the US, Bronx cheer is sometimes used; otherwise, in the US and in other English-speaking countries, it is known as a raspberry, rasp or razz — the origin of which is an instance of Cockney rhyming slang, where the non-rhyming part of a rhyming phrase is used as a synonym. In this case, "raspberry tart" rhymes with "fart". It is first recorded in 1890.^[1]

The term "Bronx Cheer" is used sarcastically because it is not a cheer, it is used to show disapproval. The term originated as a reference to Bronx, New York, and the call used by spectators in Yankee Stadium.^{[citation needed]}

Usage

One of the most famous uses of the Bronx cheer is in the song "Der Fuehrer's Face" (from the Disney animated film of the same name), as recorded by musical comedian Spike Jones in 1942, which shows disdain for Adolf Hitler with the repeated refrain "We'll Heil! (Bronx cheer) Heil! (Bronx cheer) Right in Der Fuehrer's Face!"

The American television show Hee Haw also used the Bronx cheer in a musical interlude:

Where, oh where, are you tonight?

Why did you leave me here all alone?

I searched the world over, and thought I'd found true love;

You met another, and (Bronx cheer) you were gone!

Another example is in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, one of the popular series of Monty Python films. In one scene, John Cleese, acting as a Frenchman holding a castle, says "You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottom, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly English k-nnnnniggets!" He then proceeds to blow a raspberry at the questing knights.

The BBC sketch show The Two Ronnies featured an episodic sketch entitled "The Phantom Raspberry Blower" written by comedian Spike Milligan. The titular character was a Jack the Ripper-style villain who stalked the streets of Victorian London blowing raspberries at his victims, which somehow killed them (Milligan's Phantom Raspberry Blower had appeared on television before appearing on the Two Ronnies).

In the very popular 1970s sitcom All in the Family, whenever the main character, bigot Archie Bunker, lost an argument or had no snappy riposte he would frequently issue the Bronx cheer at his liberal son-in-law, Meathead, or whoever happened to be nearby. Occasionally, his usually sweet and polite daughter Gloria would give him one back, a feat that inevitably appalled the sexist Archie, who could not believe that his "little girl" could do such a thing.

In the episode of the 1960s television series Hogan's Heroes, "How to Cook a German Goose with Radar," German commandant Colonel Klink is tricked into thinking that a Bronx cheer is an American way of showing respect, which leads to laughs as the Allied POWs repeatedly give him the cheer.

In the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, an episode features a fictional undersea town near Bikini Bottom called Rock Bottom. In Rock Bottom, the citizens speak English, with a Bronx cheer in between every couple of syllables.

The word zrbtt was used to refer to a variant of the Bronx cheer on The Cosby Show. This originated from five-year-old Rudy Huxtable, observing her older sister Vanessa practice for a spelling bee, asking her father, Cliff, what "Z-R-B-T-T" spelled. Cliff described it as the act of pressing one's lips on a person's stomach or soft area of another person's flesh and blowing, producing a tickle feeling and a noise similar to that created by flatulence.^{[citation needed]} From that point on, zrbtt became an action on the show, i.e. "I zrbtt you."

A 1968 single by Sam the Sham titled "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!" is a break-up song in which the singer couldn't spell the sound of a raspberry.

In the song They Are All In Love on The Who album The Who By Numbers, Roger Daltrey blows a raspberry in the first line of the 2nd verse.

In the USA, some whoopee cushions have "a real Bronx Cheer" written on them.

The Razzie Awards appear to be named after this noise.

In many Japanese anime, the Bronx cheer is used as a term of derision.

In Field of Dreams, Terrance Mann (played by James Earl Jones) watches the night exhibition game where a young Archie Graham is batting. After pitcher Eddie Cicotte throws at Graham's head, forcing him to hit the deck, Mann uses the Bronx Cheer to express his disapproval, though he also seems amused.

A common practice seems to be for parents to place their mouth on a young child's belly, arm, cheek, or other body part and then blow a raspberry in order to elicit laughter. In turn, even young babies can learn to do this and enjoy this interaction with others. For children, the common practice is to place their mouth on their inside arm or inner elbow while blowing a raspberry, generating unsolicited attention in the classroom. In this case, however, children rarely refer to this act as "blowing a raspberry", but rather "making fart noises".^{[citation needed]}

Cartoon character Bill the Cat of Bloom County fame sometimes goes "Thbbbt!" in the series, which symbolizes a raspberry.

Grubber, a zombie-lime member of the Gangreen Gang from the animated series Powerpuff Girls blows a raspberry.

When typing in forums or instant messaging, an emoticon version can be typed like this ^@^

See also

• Joe Btfsplk
• Linguistic universal
• Hupwheet
• Bilabial trill

References

1. ^ raspberry. The Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House (1998-04-13). Retrieved on September 19, 2005.

External links

• Video of raspberry blowing at 500 frames per second, taken with a high speed camera

Donate to Wikimedia