Posted by Adam Quinan on September 25, 2006 at 00:46:38 from 72.136.51.111 user Adam.
In Reply to: Re: Here? Hear? (Was Hotting up the past with smoke? posted by Apedantrebuked on September 24, 2006 at 12:26:48:
I have readsomewhere, maybe Patrick O'Brian, that the original version of the phrase was "Hear him, hear him", said in approval of a remark that had just been made. This became shorteneed to "Hear, hear" in later times.