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As audible in the first 27 seconds of this video, and frequently heard on the intellectual powerhouse that is TV show Take Me Out, people make this whooping whistling cheering noise – generally in vaguely hedonistic situations.

Does it have a name?

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    Whooping? Whistling? Cheering? They're all used as simple nouns to describe such noises. Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 17:06
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    @FumbleFingers Yes. I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe this exact noise. I feel it's common enough for the possibility of there being a word, phrase, or some slang to describe it specifically. Something akin to wolf whistle.
    – Max
    Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 17:16
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    @Alec: I don't get you. The roar of the crowd is often used as a generic term covering many different noises (not just roaring), but wolf -whistling, for example, is a specific type of whistling. And whistling is a specific type of noise the audience might make. Are you asking for a single word covering all different types of vocal audience participation? Commented Jan 14, 2014 at 17:29
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    If you're referring to "uah, uah" chanting, I don't think there's any specific name for it, it's just a common chant made by partygoers at clubs or raves. It goes back decades and I believe it has its roots in the rave movement but in any case I can remember it back all the way to the late 80's.
    – T Nguyen
    Commented Jan 23, 2014 at 17:07
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    It predates rave, young one. The "ooah, ooah" is from the 70's and was never given a name that I'm aware of - though it has evolved to "woot woot". It's a mimic of the standard whistle that appeared on lots of disco tunes.
    – rmirabelle
    Commented Jan 26, 2014 at 19:23

3 Answers 3

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Some sources refer to this noise as the “disco call.” For example, it appears in the index of Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco as “‘Whoop! Whoop!’ (disco call),” and the Beastie Boys refer to it in their song “Shake Your Rump”:

Oowah, oowah is the disco call

It looks like the the sound may have originally been referred to as a disco call, then later as the disco call, perhaps because it's the best-known example.

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I believe that since you seem to be talking about a very specific sound people have been making only in the past few decades, an onomatopoeia might suit your needs better. I think a simple "whooOop - whooOOP" would probably work in context.

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The people that clap/whistle at performances are called a claque, but i don't know exactly if there is a word for exactly what they do. If there isn't, I think someone should invent a new word. Words that describe the question more generically might be: clap, whistle, wolf-whistle, cheer, enthusiastic support, roar of the crowd, etc..

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