Whiteisms
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Etymology Journal ยท G

Good gravy!

Meaning

A mild exclamation used when surprised or frustrated. It functions similarly to gosh or geez but with a kitchen-inspired flair.

Silly, mild

Used in a sentence

  • Good gravy, I forgot to set the alarm clock again.
  • Good gravy, that is a lot of laundry to fold.
  • Good gravy, is it snowing again already?

The backstory

This is a classic example of a minced oath. By swapping the name of the divine with a common pantry staple, speakers kept their speech polite without losing the ability to express strong emotion.

Heard in

Midwest

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