jiminy
Americaninterjection
Etymology
Origin of jiminy
1810–20; perhaps alteration of Latin Jēsu Domine Lord Jesus!
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.
“Cause you know, partner,” Perk went on solemnly, “when we do want to skip out it’s bound to be in a hoppin’ hurry an’ there’d be no time to look her over then, by jiminy.
From Eagles of the Sky With Jack Ralston Along the Air Lanes by Newcomb, Ambrose
Poor little Timothy Grady Screwed up his face at a lady, And, jiminy jack!
From The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes by Wright, Blanche Fisher
In later years, the phrase degenerated to simply "by jiminy" and its meaning had been lost.
From Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet by Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold Leland)
Oh, jiminy, you could hear a pin drop, everyone was so quiet.
From Roy Blakeley by Fitzhugh, Percy Keese
But jiminy, I was sleepy when Carson woke me and I had to stagger out into the dark and the cold.
From Pluck on the Long Trail Boy Scouts in the Rockies by Sabin, Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
