great Caesar's ghost en · INTJ
Etymology
Allusion to the play The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar by William Shakespeare, in which Roman leader Julius Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus. Used as euphemism in place of good God or similar expressions. Made popular in the 1940s and 1950s by the Superman radio program and comic books as a catchphrase of the character Perry White. The exclamation "Great Caesar's Ghost!" appears in the 1876 novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
Meanings
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(humorous, often) An exclamation of astonishment; good Lord.
Great Caesar's ghost! Look at this place.
2007 October 1, Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Robert Cohen, “The Big Bran Hypothesis”, in The Big Bang Theory, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Sheldon (Jim Parsons):Great Caesar's ghost, what is it this?
1936, F. Hugh Herbert, The Case of the Black Cat, spoken by Perry Mason (Ricardo Cortez):'By the great Caesar's ghost, I believe you! You're the stupidest dunderhead I ever saw or ever heard of, so help me Moses! The idea of you being a pilot—you! Why, you don't know enough to pilot a cow down a lane.'
1883, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “A Cub-pilot's Experience”, in Life on the Mississippi, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| great Caesar's ghost ! | canonical | lexicographic |
Synonyms
good golly · wow · great googly-moogly
wikipedia: Julius Caesar (play) · wikipedia: Superman · wikipedia: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer · wikipedia: Mark Twain · wikipedia: William Shakespeare · wikipedia: Julius Caesar · wikipedia: Perry White