SR XLVII: "CLEAR!"

Harry is a Norwegian derogatory term used in slang, derived from the English name Harry.^[1] The best English translation may be "cheesy" or "tacky". Norsk ordbok defines "harry" as "tasteless, vulgar".^[2]

The term "harry" was first used by upper class youth in Oslo in the beginning of the 20th century, and was used to describe people who belonged to the working class. People in the lower social classes at the time often gave their children English first names such as Harry. The middle and upper classes mostly preferred Scandinavian or German (and occasionally French) names. English names (except English names that are also widely found in other European languages) had no tradition in Scandinavia and were generally considered bad taste and as a phenomenon of the working-class of the time in all the Scandinavian countries. The traditional elite of Norway mostly used conservative Danish names.