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).

Used in

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "Gordon Bennett".

Add definition

🇬🇧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.

See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.

Other words near "Gordon Bennett" (G)

Gorbals kiss Gorbasm gorblimey gorcock gorcrow Gordie Howe hat trick gorebill Goretober gorg gorget gorgey gori

Browse all slang words starting with G.

Related terms

cheeky

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

peng

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

innit

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

bruv

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

chuffed

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

40k

🇬🇧 British & Irish slang

Gordon Bennett

Etymology timeline

Seen in the wild

Used in

Have a better definition?

🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang

Tags

Other words near "Gordon Bennett" (G)

Related terms

Comments (0)

Gordon Bennett

Etymology timeline

Seen in the wild

Definitions

Used in

Have a better definition?

🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang

Tags

Other words near "Gordon Bennett" (G)

Related terms

Comments (0)