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Glite Dictionary
to feel the Bern

to feel the Bern

1 9.9
Have strong excitement and support for Bernie Sanders, his ideas or campaign
  • idiom
  • Slang
: sentir la pasión por Bernie
  • I feel the Bern every time I hear his speeches.

Examples

  • Whenever Bernie takes the stage, his supporters feel the Bern and cheer loudly.

  • You could really feel the Bern in the packed auditorium last night.

  • Many young activists began to feel the Bern as the campaign gained momentum.

  • Do you feel the Bern like I do?

  • Many young people are feeling the Bern as they rally for Bernie Sanders' campaign.

  • During the rally, supporters shouted slogans, clearly feeling the Bern for their candidate.

  • As the election approached, more citizens were feeling the Bern and joining the movement.

Synonyms

to beat the drum
vsto feel the Bern
6 5.5

To speak or act strongly to support a cause

expresses intense personal support for a particular political candidate rather than broad advocacy
heart is in it
vsto feel the Bern
  • Informal
5 6.0

Very interested and fully committed to doing something

expresses strong enthusiasm for a specific political campaign rather than general commitment

Antonyms

to oppose
610 2.9

To be against something and try to stop it

dislike
  • Texting
50 1.0

A feeling of not liking someone or something

How Enthusiastic

to feel the Bern
  • Slang
1 9.9
to support
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

feel the Bern infinitive
felt the Bern past
felt the Bern past participle
feeling the Bern present participle
feels the Bern third person singular

Morphology

feel + the + Bern

This is a play on the phrase 'feel the burn' that relies on knowledge of Bernie Sanders and US political discourse, using a homophone-based pun ('Bern' for 'burn'). The meaning 'support or feel enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders' is not compositionally derivable from the literal meanings of 'feel' + 'the' + the proper name 'Bern', so an average B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the intended political sense.

Etymology

The slogan feel the Bern is a funny twist on the exercise phrase 'feel the burn' and was used by supporters of Bernie Sanders. The image of heat and energy from that pun linked Bern with strong excitement, so it means 'to feel strong support or enthusiasm'.