Etymology Journal ยท C
Cheese and crackers
Meaning
- A mild, family-friendly exclamation used to show surprise or frustration. It acts as a substitute for harsher profanity when children are present.
Whimsical, cautious
Used in a sentence
- Cheese and crackers, I forgot to turn the oven off!
- Oh, cheese and crackers, that was a close call on the highway.
- Cheese and crackers, why is the cat on the kitchen table again?
The backstory
This is a classic example of a minced oath where speakers replace vulgar words with ones that sound similar but are harmless. The origin is generally attributed to American households looking to keep their language clean.
Heard in
Nationwide
Vibe check