dear me

Idioms  

1. Also, oh dear. A polite exclamation expressing surprise, distress, sympathy, etc. For example, Dear me, I forgot to mail it, or Oh dear, what a bad time you've been having. These usages may originally have invoked God, as in, which also continue to be so used. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

“Or perhaps they will make me walk the plank, as pirates do. Dear me, I ought to have learned to swim when I had the chance!”

From Literature

“But, dear me, a speech! Thank goodness I took that class on Great Orations of Antiquity. It ought to come in useful as I prepare my remarks. And the twelfth of October is only a week away....”

From Literature

“Dear me, an index would have come in useful here . . . cannibals, cannibals . . . I see there are quite a few mentions, but nothing particularly about fire. . . .”

From Literature

“Dear me, that is a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘might have beens,’” Penelope concluded.

From Literature

“Dear me! A rollicking story is a marvelous thing, but these are far more exciting than one would ever wish real life to be,” she told herself.

From Literature