Blowing a raspberry

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"Bronx Cheer" redirects here. For the Law & Order episode, see Bronx Cheer (Law & Order).
A man blowing a raspberry

Blowing a raspberry, strawberry or making a Bronx cheer is to make a noise that may signify derision, real or feigned. It may also be used in childhood phonemic play either solely by the child or by adults towards a child to encourage imitation to the delight of both parties. It is made by placing the tongue between the lips and blowing to produce a sound similar to flatulence. In the terminology of phonetics, this sound can be described as an unvoiced linguolabial trill [r̼̊]. It is never used in human language phonemically (e.g., to be used as a building block of words), but the sound is widely used across human cultures.





Blowing a raspberry comes from the Cockney rhyming slang "raspberry tart" for 'fart'.[4] Rhyming slang was particularly used in British comedy to refer to things which would be unacceptable to a polite audience.

The term "Bronx cheer" is used sarcastically because it is not a cheer; it is used to show disapproval.

See also[edit]


  2. ^ "raspberry". The Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House. 1998-04-13. Retrieved September 19, 2005. 
  3. ^ The Raspberry Pattern,
  4. ^ "Raspberry tart". Retrieved 2010-07-28. 

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