Where did the saying by George come from?

“By (God and Saint) George” is an old English oath invoked immediately before charging into battle as late as World War I. A version of the oath can be found in Shakespeare’s Henry VI (part I), written circa 1589 and set in 1431.

What does Bye George mean?

“By George” is a “Minced oath” that substitutes for “By God,” for those who would regard the latter as a blasphemy. So it’s (drum roll) a minced oath.

Why do British people say by George?

Q: Who’s George in the expression “By George!”? A: The phrase is a mild oath or exclamation that had its beginnings in the late 1500s. The word “George” here is a substitute for “God,” as are words like “golly,” “ginger,” “gosh,” “gum,” and so on in other similar euphemistic oaths.

What’s a Milli mouth?

📓 High School Level. adjective. avoiding the use of direct and plain language, as from timidity, excessive delicacy, or hypocrisy; inclined to mince words; insincere, devious, or compromising: Our local government is filled with mealy-mouthed politicians and self-serving bureaucrats.

What does Mushmouth mean?

speaks indistinctly
noun, plural mush·mouths [muhsh-mouths, -mouthz, moosh-]. Slang. a person who speaks indistinctly.

What does cash on the nail mean?

[British] if you pay cash on the nail for something, you pay for it immediately and in cash. The American expression is on the barrelhead.

What does 10 to a dozen mean?

ten to the dozen. Very rapidly, hurriedly, and/or energetically. My aunt can get talking ten to the dozen if you get her on a topic she’s passionate about. Samson came running ten to the dozen when he heard his son crying out to him from the back garden. See also: dozen, ten, to.

What is the origin of the expression “by Jove”?

by jove is an exclamation of surprise. Jove is a euphemism for Jupiter, the Roman King of Gods. The Greeks call him Zeus. The expression seems first to have appeared in the 1500’s (Cassells). Putting it into a simpler way, it is like saying My God, By God, (in this case, by Jupiter.)

What does the oath by Jove mean?

By Jove was a mild oath, an exclamation that indicated surprise or gave emphasis to some comment, which dates from the sixteenth century. It was originally a neat way of calling on a higher power without using the blasphemous by God.

Is it by Jupiter or by Jove?

1 Answer. “By Jove” (or “by Jupiter”) was not a euphemism when it first showed up in English; it originally referred directly to the Roman deity. The OED’s earliest example for “by Jove” uses the term in reference to the Roman god, in Apius and Virginia, an anonymous 1575 play set in classical times.

Are ‘Jove’ and ‘cracky’ dying out?

These mild oaths are euphemisms, the first for “by Jesus” or “by God” (Jove is another name for Jupiter, the principal Roman god), and the folksy variant by cracky for “by Christ.” Both idioms may be dying out.