honest to God

Idioms

Also,; 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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Forrest is an extremely intelligent person, and honest to God, he does have psychological issues, but he knows what he’s doing,” Milligan said at the time.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2023

I wouldn’t wish this nightmare on my worst enemy, honest to God.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2022

They have to sit there and conduct a real honest to God trial and follow the rules so closely that the folks above them will not reverse them on something big or small.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2022

“I honest to God don’t know what they’re for,” Biden said at one point during his nearly two-hour exchange with reporters.

From Washington Post • Jan. 19, 2022

“You honest to God think 1 oughtta call Trucho?”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023