bejesus

[bih-jee-zuhs, -jey-]

interjection

1. (used as a mild oath expressing dismay, anger, or the like.)

noun

1. Informal.,  dickens; devil; deuce.

   The conglomerate plans to take that tiny company and expand the bejesus out of it.

bejesus

/ bɪˈdʒeɪzəz /

interjection

1. an exclamation of surprise, emphasis, etc, regarded as a characteristic utterance of Irish people

noun

1. (intensifier) used in such phrases as beat the bejesus out of , scare the bejesus out of , etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of bejesus¹

First recorded in 1905–10; alteration of oath by Jesus

Word History and Origins

Origin of bejesus¹

C20: alteration of by Jesus!

Example Sentences

Mills got up there Sunday and discovered an unwelcome climate situation — “I wish they would cut that air off,” she said, “it’s blowing so cold on me” — but went ahead and sang the bejesus out of “Home,” from “The Wiz.”

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“And you see these ads that scare the bejesus out of you, you’re like, ‘I know Trump’s weird or whatever, but I would rather his weirdness that doesn’t affect my kids.'”…

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The Redondo Beach Pier, first built in 1888 as a lumber wharf, burned spectacularly in 1988, perhaps from an electrical short from damage by two immense storms that had just beaten the bejesus out of the place.

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Santiago’s descent begins one night when a dead body scares the bejesus out of him by opening its eyes and screaming “Kill me, please.”

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Mr. Skal was an author with encyclopedic knowledge of a subject not always taken seriously — movies meant to scare the bejesus out of people — whose erudition, combined with a chatty writing style, made his books lively and entertaining.

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