Hooray Henry

9.9

A young man from a rich family who brags and shows off

noun

Offensive

: pijo (ES)

You can't run a modern financial centre with a bunch of Hooray Henries.

Examples

He's always showing off his new car; he's such a Hooray Henry.
At the gala, the Hooray Henrys made sure everyone noticed their designer suits.
The party was filled with Hooray Henrys bragging about their extravagant lifestyles.

Synonyms

high-muck-a-muck

vsHooray Henry

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who acts very important and looks down on others

refers specifically to a young wealthy person who is loud and boastful

fancy Dan

vsHooray Henry

Offensive

9.9

A man who dresses and acts in a flashy way to attract attention

focuses on loud boastful upper class background rather than mere appearance

Antonyms

humble

91 3.4

From a low social rank or simple background

How Arrogant

snob

Offensive

72 5.1

Hooray Henry

Offensive

9.9

braggart

Offensive

4 7.7

show-off

Offensive

12 4.8

Surface Forms

Hooray Henry singular

Hooray Henries plural

Morphology

hooray + Henry

The phrase 'Hooray Henry' is a sociocultural stereotype whose meaning (a loud, upper‑class, boastful young man) is not derivable from 'hooray' (an exclamation) plus 'Henry' (a personal name with no semantic contribution). Understanding it requires cultural/idiomatic knowledge rather than knowledge of the constituents, so an average B1 learner who only knows the words would not predict the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Hooray Henry may come from the simple image of a rich young man named Henry who loudly cries 'hooray' at clubs and parties to show off. That's why the term now means 'a loud, showy young man from a rich background'.