Curious about this mild expletive (along the lines of “egad” and “drat”) which people use from time to time: “criminy” ( spelling may not be correct). Does anyone know the definition and/or root of this word? It doesn’t show up in any dictionary I’ve checked.
According to the Word Detective :
“Criminy” (which is how most dictionaries spell it) is simply a euphemism for “Christ.” Euphemisms, of course, are words designed to act as linguistic fig leaves, disguising (supposedly) or softening the true meaning of the speaker’s words in deference to the listener’s (again supposedly) refined sensibilities. In practice, euphemisms rarely really fool anyone, although we all play along with the game and dutifully chuckle at a “goldurn” when we might well be offended by a blunt “goddam.”
“Criminy” has been around at least since the 1600’s, which makes it a charter member of a sub-class of English euphemisms designed to circumvent prohibitions against swearing oaths or taking holy names in vain. Other euphemisms involving substitutes for “Christ” include “cricky,” “for chrissakes,” “for Pete’s sake,” and the ever-popular “gee,” which is short for “Jesus,” as is my “jeepers” above. While we’re at it, “gosh,” “golly,” “good grief” and “great scott” all arose as attempts to sidestep invoking the name “God.” There’s even evidence to indicate that “doggone” has nothing to do with dogs and everything to do with a garbled attempt to modify “God damn.”
Here’s what the word detective said about crimeny
http://www.word-detective.com/012199.html#crimeny
-Lillie
Off the subject:
My favorite almost-blasphemous expression has got to be:’s blood!
Or the archaic, “Zounds!”, short for God’s Wounds.
So the word “heck” is a euphie for “hell”, right?
Q
“By jiminy” is an attempt to not blaspheme Castor and Pollux.
Thanks for all of the information. My question has been answered expeditiously and I have no reason to doubt the accuracy! Zounds! You have satisfied a great curiosity.