heavens to Betsy
(primarily, US, dated) Good gracious; good heavens.
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Born ~1857 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
(primarily, US, dated) Good gracious; good heavens.
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Good gracious; good heavens.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Semantically related
- heavens above61%
(UK) Expression of surprise.
- heavens above60%
A quintessentially British exclamation of surprise, shock, or mild exasperation — the kind of thing someone says when they've received startling news and want to convey astonishment without resorting to profanity. It has a slightly old-fashioned, genteel quality that places it somewhere between genuine shock and theatrical performance. You're more likely to hear it from grandparents and period dramas than from teenagers, but it still gets deployed with genuine feeling by Britons of a certain generation and disposition.
- God in heaven59%
(UK, mildly, blasphemous) Expression of alarm or amazement.
- my gosh58%
(chiefly, US, euphemistic) my God.