Hear me say it here!

November 1, 2005 9:08 AM

"Hear hear" or "here here"? What's the correct way to express this exclamation in writing?
posted by WolfDaddy to writing & language (16 comments total)

Hear, Hear.
posted by cmonkey at 9:09 AM on November 1, 2005

I've always thought that "Hear, hear!" was correct, as the meaning translates to roughly "Hear what's being said, because it's good and true."

I don't have any authoritative cites, however.
posted by tdismukes at 9:11 AM on November 1, 2005

Hansard, the definitive report of UK parliamentary proceedings, is pretty good as far as an authoritative citing goes; first link from Google for 'hasard hear hear' is
here (or, indeed, hear).
posted by littleme at 9:15 AM on November 1, 2005

The same expression exists in German, and it's "hört, hört" which means "hear, hear".
posted by amf at 9:23 AM on November 1, 2005

You are exhorting someone to listen, not calling a puppy. "Hear."
posted by furiousthought at 10:03 AM on November 1, 2005

HEAR/HERE here.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:05 AM on November 1, 2005

Though Patrick O'Brian was a late-twentieth century writer, he wrote of Napoleonic-era Europe. He often has characters proclaim, "Hear him! Hear him!" after somebody gives a particularly rousing speech. I've been assuming that O'Brian's usage is based on something (though I know not what), and is sort of a bridge between what came before and the "Hear! Hear!" that is sometimes used today.
posted by jdroth at 11:24 AM on November 1, 2005

Do you not have a dictionary?
posted by languagehat at 11:38 AM on November 1, 2005

jdroth, you beat me to it.
posted by yerfatma at 12:40 PM on November 1, 2005

I pronounce "hear" and "here" differently, and it's definitely "hear hear" for me.
posted by nomis at 2:30 PM on November 1, 2005

This is one of those malapropisms I wish I could banish from the web.
posted by dhartung at 3:43 PM on November 1, 2005

>I pronounce "hear" and "here" differently, and it's definitely "hear hear" for me.
posted by nomis at 2:30 PM PST on November 1 [!]

Really? How do you pronounce them? I've always thought of them as homonyms.
posted by philfromhavelock at 4:03 PM on November 1, 2005

Tell me too! How do you pronounce them differently?
posted by leftoverboy at 7:04 PM on November 1, 2005

A cute kid's book, The Phantom Tollbooth, had an area where everyone had been silenced, and someone was carrying a sign, "Hear here!"

:)
posted by Malor at 5:45 AM on November 2, 2005

nomis is a New Zealander, so presumably his "ee" is slightly more raised than his "ea"; you can hear the difference (if you listen closely and repeatedly) here for the words beer and bear and here for here, hair, ear, and air. (Audio files from this page.)
posted by languagehat at 6:58 AM on November 2, 2005

Er, and by "ee" I mean the sound in here. Sorry 'bout that.
posted by languagehat at 6:58 AM on November 2, 2005