goodness gracious

1. 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

The South African-born English writer also penned the lyrics to the 1960 song Goodness Gracious Me, made famous by Sellers and Sophia Loren.

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I remember early on being like, “Goodness gracious — that voice.”

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I wish to goodness gracious that PBS were in a position to do that.

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"One more game, one more push," said Goodness Gracious Me actor Sanjeev Bhaskar.

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Cassandra Loftlin, a chef, recipe developer and co-founder of Goodness Gracious Grocery, has done a lot of work in the food education space, including writing recipes specifically for children, and has seen firsthand the impact it can have on students.

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