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Gordon Bennett

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, frustration.

ˈɡɔɹdən ˈbɛnətDocumented since 1930s1930sSilenthistoricalCurrent148 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
1 definition
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Etymology timeline

Born ~1937 · 1 year of recorded use
1937Born2026: 2 citationsToday, 2026
20th centurySee decade cohort →

Seen in the wild

BlueskyMay 2026

May 6, 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.

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BlueskyMay 2026

Gordon Bennett! Who wrote that post? Was it a boy?

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Definitions

UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, frustration.

See it in action

  • “Gordon Bennett! Who wrote that post? Was it a boy?”

    via Bluesky
Origin: For James Gordon Bennett, Jr., a New York newspaper proprietor and playboy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who became widely known for his extravagant lifestyle and shocking behaviour. The first time the expression appears in print was in 1937, in James Curtis's novel, You’re in the Racket, Too. The Oxford English Dictionary places the phrase in the 1890s as an alteration of gorblimey and again in reference to James Gordon Bennett Jr. The name was probably chosen because the first syllable of Gordon sounds like God in non-rhotic pronunciations, which would make this. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Heard in the wild

  • “May 6, 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.”

    — Bluesky· May 2026

  • “Gordon Bennett! Who wrote that post? Was it a boy?”

    — Bluesky· May 2026
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang

UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.

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#Wiktionary import
#British

Other words near "Gordon Bennett" (G)

Gorbals kissGorbasmgorblimeygorcockgorcrowGordie Howe hat trickgorebillGoretobergorggorgetgorgeygori

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