ye gods

English

Etymology

Seventeenth-century British variant of oh my God, probably intended to avoid blasphemy[1][2]. Compare Danish I guder.

Interjection

ye gods

  1. (idiomatic, dated, euphemistic) "You gods!" Used to express surprise or incredulity.
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (Chapter 2)
      Would he not far rather lay him down lengthwise along the line of the equator; yea, ye gods! go down to the fiery pit itself, in order to keep out this frost?

Derived terms

References
  1. "Ye gods and little fishes!" (World Wide Words)
  2. "Gosh, we can't leave God alone when we speak" (The Electric New Paper News)

Anagrams
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