pep someone up

(redirected from pep rally)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

pep (one) up

To increase or enhance one's excitement, interest, energy, or alertness. The show was going really poorly until the host came out and pepped the audience up. I think I need some coffee to pep me up.
See also: pep, up

pep someone up

Invigorate someone or cheer someone up, as in This drink will pep you up, or The good news about his recovery pepped us up. [1920s] Both the verb pep and the noun pep, denoting vigor and energy since about 1910, are abbreviations for pepper, a spice with a pungent, biting quality. They also have given rise to pep rally, a meeting to inspire enthusiasm [c. 1940], and pep talk, a speech meant to instill enthusiasm or bolster morale [1920s].
See also: pep, someone, up
References in periodicals archive ?
But as I told readers in a 2011 essay for The Washington Post, our academic pep rally was a well-meaning flop.
Varsity blues
It has been an unusual Thanksgiving year for Leominster High School, but senior Rachel Trombi said the students appreciate that the mayor gave them a place to hold the pep rally.
Pep rally held, game set Saturday; Mayor provides City Hall venue
Koizumi is to appear at a pep rally for hopefuls running in the July 29 House of Councillors election at the Pacifico Yokohama on Monday afternoon.
No more tickets to Koizumi campaign stop on home turf
The union pep rally last Wednesday resulted in one side of Park Avenue being shut down from 79th to 83rd Street.
The Realty Advisory Board
We want the pro-Khatami faction to help him accomplish his program," explains Bentolhoda Jamshidi, 19, a theater student at Tehran University who came to the stadium pep rally with a photo of the president taped to her head scarf.
Rebels With a Cause
After Justin Leonard sank an incredible 45-foot putt to complete the victory, our guys (along with a few wives and officials) broke into a spontaneous pep rally on the green--while an opponent still had a putt to make.
OH, SAY CAN YOU SEE
Right, a curiously outfitted contingent at the premiere of "The Faculty" try to give director Robert Rodriguez, left, and stars Elijah Wood and Jordana Brewster the feel of a real high school pep rally.
BERLIN FESTGOERS FETE HELMERS
ISOC held a little pep rally in Washington DC last week to encourage attendance at INet 99.
Internet Society To Sponsor Postel Chair at UCLA
Other recorded incidents include a high school pep rally at which the entertainment included a slapstick reenactment of a gay bashing.
School's out
The Republicans finished their convention with a lame pep rally.
Volleyball or death
Unlike four years ago, the only other time Oregon has played in a national championship football game, this Duck pep rally did not feature any live musical acts like "Otis Day & the Knights" of "Animal House" fame, or any rousing speeches by former UO greats Ahmad Rashad and Joey Harrington, or even an appearance by head coach Mark Helfrich and the team.
Fans ready to roll
Highlighting the opening of the 89th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Bedans gather to express all-out support for the student athletes during the annual pep rally held inside the MVP Gym at San Beda College on Friday.
Bedans boost school spirit for NCAA athletes
Then they marched onto the football field for pictures, followed by breakfast in the school and, later in the day, a pep rally.
Fit to be tie-dyed; Costumed seniors show 'em who's boss
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?