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goodness gracious
Idioms and Phrases
Also, good gracious ; gracious sakes . Exclamation of surprise, dismay, or alarm, as in Goodness gracious! You've forgotten your ticket . Both goodness and gracious originally alluded to the good (or grace) of God, but these colloquial expressions, which date from the 1700s, are not considered either vulgar or blasphemous.Example Sentences
I read that story and thought, 'Goodness gracious, this is not anything I ever learned.'
Why, I expected to see a sort of great—goodness—gracious goddess, that kept him frightened to death of her.
And Uncle Wills pride, Sandys hair, that he made a picture of that sold for ever so much moneyoh, my goodness gracious!
Goodness gracious, I do believe this country'll be enough to turn one's head, almost, if it goes on like this much longer.'
Goodness Gracious—Used in a similar sense to the above, though in a milder degree.
My goodness gracious me, she cried out in a loud astonished voice as she drew out the contents of the packet.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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