perish the thought

Idioms  

1. Don't even think of it. This expression is used as a wish that what was just mentioned will never happen. For example, He's going to give another speech? Perish the thought! This phrase appeared in Handel's oratorio Joshua (1748; text by Thomas Morell): “It never shall be said that our allies in vain implor'd our aid. Perish the thought!” Also see god forbid.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perish the thought

Is it about her dead mother, perish the thought?

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2019

I changed shafts three more times in quick succession simply to perish the thought.

From Golf Digest ● Feb. 6, 2017

She said there's nothing improper — or, perish the thought, unethical — about paying membership dues to an entity that also decides which self-nominated companies are the most ethical in the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2014

Or — perish the thought — engaging in personal time.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2012

It gives your salon its political character at once; you would have had a hard time getting them to begin on bimetallism and the census— perish the thought!

From Senator North by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn