Ye gods!
This expression may have its origin in classical times, at a period in history when many gods were worshipped. In the 17th century it was a variation of the more usual and blasphemous, ‘Oh, my God.’
At some point, ‘and little fishes’ was added, and was first seen in print in 1830. It may have been a gentle reference to the story of the feeding of the five thousand, recorded in all four gospels. The words were added to soften the phrase and turn it into a ‘minced oath.’ A minced oath is one which has been adapted or cut up to be less offensive.
Minced oaths have been used since the 14th century, from Wikipedia:‘when "gog" and "kokk", both euphemisms for God, were in use. Other early minced oaths include "Gis" or "Jis" for Jesus (1528)’
Minced oaths may involve substituting similar words, or adjusting a phrase. Thus, gosh substitutes for God, heck for hell, and darn for damn. Gee derives from Jesus, Blimey from God blind me and Crikey from Christ. Even Jiminy Cricket is less innocent than it sounds – look at the initial letters.
Jiminy Cricket. I'd never noticed. I a Jeremy with his last name beginning with C. I don't believe he is religious, and I used to see him with his mother, and I don't think she is religious either.
ReplyDeleteAnd all my life I have been unaware of these meanings.
ReplyDeleteOMG! This is so amazing! It's so much fun to learn this!
ReplyDeleteJeepers Creepers! And hell's bells, you said a mouthful!
ReplyDeleteFun stuff. I knew some of this.
ReplyDeleteI catch myself saying, "Good God" sometimes. I wouldn't call it praise, and I have no idea why. I feel like someone in my youth said this a lot but I can't recall whom?
ReplyDeleteI must stop using words that I had no idea were actually religious oaths eg crikey! Who knew?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Gosh was a substitute for God, nor Jiminy Cricket for JC.
ReplyDeleteThis is all very interesting. Who know especially that Gees .. was a minced oath for Jesus- I didn't! and Jiminy Cricket makes sense too. Thanks for a good read.
ReplyDeleteMy minced oath is 'Sugar', I use it too much.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I know! I once got told off for saying Blimey, something I had heard my whole life before moving here, and not using it all the time, but it occasionally slipped out. The annoyed party, a friend of the family and now a priest but wasn’t at the time, explained what it meant. Did not have a clue!
ReplyDeleteBonjour Jabblog , votre billet intitulé « Dieux ! » est une pépite linguistique, à la fois érudite et délicieusement espiègle, vous avez su, avec une élégance toute britannique, nous faire voyager à travers les siècles de langage et de croyances, révélant les subtilités des « serments hachés » comme autant de clins d’œil à l’histoire et à la pudeur des mots, c’est un plaisir rare de lire une réflexion aussi fine, où l’humour côtoie la philologie avec tant de légèreté, je me permets, avec beaucoup de respect, de vous suivre dans votre liste d’amis, c’est avec grand plaisir que je vous invite également à découvrir mon univers, fait de poésie, de réflexions et de partages sensibles, si cela vous parle, j’aimerais beaucoup que vous me suiviez à votre tour, je vous souhaite un très bon week-end, riche en découvertes, en sourires et en mots choisis, avec toute mon amitié littéraire, Régis
ReplyDeleteDespite already knowing the meaning of most of these, I still continue to use them
ReplyDeleteJust waiting to be struck down by a thunderbolt any day now.
I didn't know half of those. That's really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard them called minced oaths, but that is what they are. in the southern states I grew up using these, and still do. I have often wondered if using the minced words are the same as the words we don't want to use.
ReplyDeleteOh My Word! I just that over and over and What The Heck? I don't give a darn. these are the three I use the most
I don't think I ever heard the expression "minced oaths" before, even if I'm aware of the phenomenon as such. We do of course have our own similar kinds of euphemistic oaths in Swedish as well.
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