Give ’em hell, Harricum!
Truman“Give ’em hell, Harricum!” is the students’ cheer to Harry S. Truman as he leaves Oxford. Its distinctive form of address turns a short send-off into a moment of personal, exuberant recognition during his English visit.
Form and Occasion
The students call from their windows as Truman departs. The wording combines an exhortation with the familiar-sounding “Harricum”; the account records the call but does not explain how that form of address originated.
Place in the Visit
The cheer belongs to a sequence of warmly received appearances in England. The following night, Truman speaks at the Pilgrims’ annual dinner at the Savoy in London, where Lord Halifax offers a compliment comparing him to a companion welcome on a tiger hunt. Against that formal praise, the Oxford cry is brief and public, giving the visit a more spontaneous note.
