oh my goodness gracious

English

Alternative forms

• goodness gracious me
• oh, my goodness gracious
• oh my goodness gracious me; oh, my goodness gracious me

Pronunciation

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Interjection

oh my goodness gracious

1. (idiomatic, euphemistic, dated) Oh my God.
   • 1861, Henry Mills Alden, “The Debatable Baby”, in Harper's new monthly magazine, volume 22, number 132, page 776:

     "Oh, my goodness gracious! who'd have thought it? Oh, my soul and body!" exclaimed Ben, dropping the cover, and jumping up with a perfectly absurd look of ...

   • 1865, “Patty Resumes Her Vocation”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round, A Weekly Journal, volumes 13-14, page 551:

     Oh, my goodness gracious me! where was I? Where was Robert? To happen to me, a sort of prudish old maid, who kept her house so strict!

See also

• goodness gracious
• oh my goodness