do someone proud

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

do someone proud (third-person singular simple present does someone proud, present participle doing someone proud, simple past did someone proud, past participle done someone proud)

1. (transitive, informal) To cause someone to feel pride, admiration, or satisfaction.
   • 1867, Anthony Trollope, chapter 75, in The Last Chronicle of Barset:

     He very politely assured her that she would ‘do him proud’, whenever she might please to call at Hook Court.

   • 1913, Jack London, chapter 7, in The Valley of the Moon:

     "Well, honest to God, it does me proud to meet you," he blurted out. "Shake hands."

   • 2008 May 13, “Calderwood praises character”, in www.sportinglife.com, UK, retrieved 18 Jun. 2008:

     I was absolutely delighted with the way we competed and the players did me proud.

2. (transitive, dated) To treat someone extremely well; to honor with a generous contribution.
   • 1994, Frank E. Vandiver, Ploughshares Into Swords: Josiah Gorgas and Confederate Ordnance:

     Fortune did them proud, for by the time they got to Wilmington, gold had risen to such heights in Confederate currency that their salaries dwarfed those paid to Southerners doing the same work.

   • 2009, Sheila Hancock -, The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw:

     We are all in rags now but we did him proud. Wish he could be here to see it all.

   • 2009, Terry Wheeler, The Padnell Prowler, page 107:

     The Misses March did me proud. They'd really gone to town and made all the party food that they thought someone my age would like

Further reading

• “do someone proud”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “do sb proud”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “do somebody proud” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.