to cry aim
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To applaud, encourage. In archery it was customary to appoint certain persons to cry "Aim!" for the sake of encouraging those who were about to shoot.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to cry aim” mean?
To applaud, encourage. In archery it was customary to appoint certain persons to cry "Aim!" for the sake of encouraging those who were about to shoot.
Is “to cry aim” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.