Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"Good Heavens!": An Old English Euphemism?, Dallin D. Oaks

Faculty Publications

It is commonly assumed that the expression good heavens! is a euphemistic one, originally coined to avoid a more direct reference to God. The OED, for example, seems to regard the word heavens as a "substituted expression" for God in the exclamation good heavens! While this substitution may in fact characterize how speakers use the expression now, it may not reflect the original meaning behind this expression.