Rah

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This article is about a slang term. For other meanings, see Rah (disambiguation).

Rah is a derogatory British English slang term for a young upper-middle-class or upper-class person. The term is pejorative and is associated with a number of traditional and contemporary class stereotypes. A rah is identified particularly by his or her wealthy, privately educated background, snobbish personal conduct, and expensive dress.

"Rah" does not have wide currency outside of British universities, and is generally limited to older universities with large contingents of privately educated students. Prominent examples are the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Newcastle, and St Andrews. It is possible the term is not so widely used elsewhere because cores of wealthy, privileged students are less visible and less likely to form in universities based in large, socially diverse cities.

1 Possible derivations
2 The stereotype
3 Alternative names
4 See also
5 References
6 External link

[edit] Possible derivations

Rah int. and sb. U.S. apethic for Hurrah. Citation 1894 ^[1]
Rah-rah adj. vith hyphens pertaining to college and collegiate. ^[2]

There are a number of possible derivations for the term:

The word may originate from an impersonation of the affected pronunciation of the word 'yes' as 'yah', or a shortening of the exclamation 'hurrah'. Other possible rah speech probabilities are the stereotypical posh use of the word 'rather' and the rah's laugh being 'Rah ha ha'
It may be a shortening of "Hoorah Henry", though "Hooray Henry" is more usual.
The term may have been born in the episode of The Young Ones entitled Bambi, where the working class students of "Scumbag College" take on the wealthy snobs of "Footlights College, Oxbridge" on University Challenge. In one scene before the match, the toffs are seen in a Rolls Royce drinking champagne and drunkenly cheering "Rah rah rah! We're going to bash the oiks!" However, usage likely pre-dates this episode.
Rugby union fans, or even the game itself, are sometimes known as "rah rah" ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]. The term may derive from an application of this usage.
The least likely derivation, though one which is widely rumoured, is as an acronym of "Rich Arse Hole"; however, this is likely to be a modern backronym.

In Richard Adams's book Watership Down, rah is a Lapine word for a leader or a prince.

[edit] The stereotype

This stereotype is based primarily upon behaviour, social background and fashion. It should be noted that all following characteristics are defined by outsiders, and as such are highly subjective.

The characteristics are:

Unkempt hair for females
Oversized jumpers, cardigans and gilet jackets
Sandals and shorts in all weather conditions by males
Tweed jackets and trousers for males
Thick, brightly-coloured scarves or pashminas for girls
Upturned collars on shirts (stereotypically pink), rugby shirts and polo shirts^[6]
Sleeveless jackets or body warmers
Displays of luxury items and expensive brands, particularly with clothing and clothing accessories
Engagement in social activities associated with the British aristocracy and upper-middle class or "social circuit", such as high tea, lacrosse, croquet, Pimm's, Cowes Week, Henley, Ascot, Wimbledon, polo, shooting, hunting, luxury holidays and lawn bowling
The use of the received pronunciation accent
Loud, rapid speech
A wealthy background and, contingently, a private education
Conservative political views, in particular opposition to perceived left-wing class warfare (for example, efforts to ban fox-hunting or to reform the House of Lords)
The choice of Oxford or Cambridge for university-level education, or the universities of Leeds, Durham, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Newcastle, Southampton, Exeter, or Bristol as a second choice. Choosing older, more traditional colleges within collegiate universities
High spending on everyday items, e.g. food shopping at Waitrose and eating at expensive restaurants
The wearing of pyjama bottoms at all times of the day
Always wearing at least one form of Jack Wills

[edit] Alternative names

"Yah" is used in some Scottish university cities, such as Edinburgh and St Andrews, and its etymology is the typical way in which this social group say "yah" instead of "yes". In Winchester and other southern towns "pash" is used. Pash is an abbreviation of pashmina, a typical luxury scarf worn by so-called rahs. In the University of Nottingham a modern alternative is a "Chix", mainly for those of London origin.