honest to God


Also, honest to goodness or Pete; honest Injun. Truly, really, as in Honest to God, I didn't know it was yours, or Honest to goodness, we had exactly the same experience, or I promise I'll finish in time, honest to Pete, or Honest Injun, I didn't take your wallet. These colloquial assertions date from about 1900, except for honest Injun, dating from the late 1800s and today considered offensive.

Words Nearby honest to God

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use honest to God in a sentence

  • I want you to tell me the truth—the honest-to-God, cross-your-heart truth, Lem—about that money.

    In Pawn | Ellis Parker Butler
  • Nothing but an honest-to-God, genuine, Joshua-stopping-the-sun type of miracle could have saved the opposition.

    Hail to the Chief | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • Candron wished he were an honest-to-God telepath, so he could be absolutely sure.

    What The Left Hand Was Doing | Gordon Randall Garrett