# "Gosh, golly, jeez-oh-pete!" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091 "2019-02-23T15:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/1 "2019-02-23T15:26:41Z")
Have I just broken the 3rd commandment? Or do euphemisms get you a pass? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/2 "2019-02-23T15:47:20Z")
DISCLAIMER: This is based on 30 year old memory of material I didn’t even care about at the time. I’m fully prepared to be proven wrong about this. As I understand Catholic dogma, if you believe that you have offered offense then you have committed sin. Was there full intent of the will? If so then get thee to a confessional. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/3 "2019-02-23T16:39:03Z")
If only for the sake of pedantry, I’ll point out that [different religious traditions number the Ten Commandments differently](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments#The_Ten_Commandments), so not everyone has the same “3rd commandment.” I assume you’re referring to the one that prohibits “taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” There are also differences of opinion about what, exactly, is prohibited by the letter and the spirit of the commandment. My own personal “humble opinion” answer is that, in saying something like the thread title, you are not actually using a name of God, and are in fact deliberately avoiding doing so, so you get a pass. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/4 "2019-02-23T17:03:15Z")
My wife is the only other person I know who uses, “Jeez-oh-Pete,” so you must be Slovakian. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/5 "2019-02-23T17:26:17Z")
Even as a kid, it seemed weird to me that our Catholic teachers told us that the third commandment prohibited obscene language, when it clearly says nothing of the sort. Unless God’s real name is “shit”. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/6 "2019-02-23T19:12:25Z")
In my simplistic theology, the sin is in the intention and not just the action. If you are saying Golly Gosh or Jiminy Crickets because you really want to use one of the nine billion names and are yeti g to lawyer yourself out, then you are guilty. If you say Jesus Fucking Christ because you like the so8nd then you are innocent. Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/7 "2019-02-23T19:22:44Z")
Obviously, different sects and denominations have different interpretations so there’s no one answer. However, these superstitions go way back to the days when names were considered magic. Jewish tradition forbade writing the name of God, and some orthodox still write it in English as G-d. Yahweh, JHVH, Jehovah, and other variations are euphemisms that avoid the danger. Hundreds of superstitions about not using true names abound in hundreds of cultures. Not telling a person your real name is a trope in fantasy fiction in worlds where magic exists. Euphemisms are powerful in their way and once served a perceived purpose. That’s why they’re accepted most times in most places. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/8 "2019-02-23T19:41:05Z")
My MIL, the strictest Baptist I ever met, would use funny words for curses. She would say “fudge” or "bass-ackwards"regularly. I never could make her believe she might as well use a real curse word if her intent was the same. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/9 "2019-02-23T20:00:01Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > In my simplistic theology, the sin is in the intention and not just the action. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I never could make her believe she might as well use a real curse word if her intent was the same. You know what they say about [the road to hell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_road_to_hell_is_paved_with_good_intentions)? > [@DrFidelius](#): > > If you are saying Golly Gosh or Jiminy Crickets because you really want to use one of the nine billion names and are yeti g to lawyer yourself out, then you are guilty. > If you say Jesus Fucking Christ because you like the so8nd then you are innocent. This strikes me as backwards. If you _do_ something wrong, that’s what makes you guilty. If you _want_ to do something wrong, but you know it’s wrong so you do something else instead, you’re not guilty. (Although there are several variables to consider, such as why you wanted to do it, why you refrained from doing it, and what effects doing it vs, doing the something else might have on the people around you.) On the other hand, if you “say Jesus Fucking Christ because you like the sound,” you are (at least in the eyes of some religious people) guilty of being flippant and careless with something that should be sacred and holy. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/10 "2019-02-23T20:03:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My MIL, the strictest Baptist I ever met, would use funny words for curses. She would say “fudge” or "bass-ackwards"regularly. I never could make her believe she might as well use a real curse word if her intent was the same. I agree and even extend it to such stupid things as “the N word” and f\*ck" just say it or write it. Euphemisms are just plain stupid. Of course some people think it is a more polite way to curse. If you are going to curse, curse. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/11 "2019-02-23T20:20:22Z")
IMNSHO, statements that break the third commandment are more along the lines of “This summer’s fires in California are God’s judgement upon us for our tolerance of homosexuals” This is based on a non-majority but actually reasonably respectable reading of “take in vain” to mean something more like “fling it round like you own it, for whatever idiocy you feel like perpetrating” That said, I rather like the creative use of non-swear-swears, and find them pretty amusing. My kids are fond of “well, heck your face” and “what the gary?” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/12 "2019-02-23T20:31:12Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > If you are saying Golly Gosh or Jiminy Crickets because you really want to use one of the nine billion names and are yeti g to lawyer yourself out, then you are guilty. Only until yeti h comes along. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/13 "2019-02-23T20:43:06Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > IMNSHO, statements that break the third commandment are more along the lines of “This summer’s fires in California are God’s judgement upon us for our tolerance of homosexuals” > > This is based on a non-majority but actually reasonably respectable reading of “take in vain” to mean something more like “fling it round like you own it, for whatever idiocy you feel like perpetrating” > > That said, I rather like the creative use of non-swear-swears, and find them pretty amusing. My kids are fond of “well, heck your face” and “what the gary?” I agree with this. The Commandments are not shallow proscriptions, otherwise they wouldn’t have lasted for 4000 or so years. Even though humans love to have simple unambiguous rules for life, that isn’t the intent of the Commandments. It would be a better translation to say something like, “do not use the name of God for evil purposes.” Meaning more like Aspidistra’s example. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/14 "2019-02-24T04:49:42Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > My wife is the only other person I know who uses, “Jeez-oh-Pete,” so you must be Slovakian. Hmm, I say “jeez-oh-Pete” myself but I have no idea where I got it from. I assume tv. I happen to be Slovak but I can’t recall any of my Slovak relatives saying it. Huh! ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/15 "2019-02-24T09:27:57Z")
Following up on Aspidistra’s post - In commandments 1 and 2 we already have clear direction that we should respect God and not use his name to express our frustration. I interpret the 3rd commandment as “Do not attach the Lord’s name to anything he has not authorized” - don’t attach God’s name to traditions, rules, restrictions, political causes, attacks on other people, etc. Do not do violence in God’s name or presume to know his will other than as revealed in his word. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/16 "2019-02-24T14:58:46Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Hmm, I say “jeez-oh-Pete” myself but I have no idea where I got it from. I assume tv. I happen to be Slovak but I can’t recall any of my Slovak relatives saying it. > > Huh! This because you TRUE Slovak! Only _rightful_ Slovak wield power of “jeez-oh-Pete.” Other relatiffs doubtless **TURKS**! _ptoo_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/17 "2019-02-24T15:44:02Z")
I don’t think swear words as such are even mentioned in the Bible. To Curse is to wish ill on somebody. To blaspheme is to use God’s name in an irreligious manner. Obscene jesting is cited as wrong, so no dirty jokes. But just plain swear words are not mentioned. Of course, a good many English swear words reflect the class differences between the Anglo Saxon and the French Normans, which has zero Biblical context. What I’m saying is say piss and shit all you want. It’s not a sin. Just swearing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/18 "2019-02-24T16:23:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I don’t think swear words as such are even mentioned in the Bible. … > What I’m saying is say piss and shit all you want. It’s not a sin. Just swearing. I know what you mean, but **swearing** , in the literal, “I solemnly swear…” sense, is precisely what the third commandment is about, according to the [Judaism 101](http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm#Writing) site: > [@](#): > > In Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a prohibition against swearing by God’s Name falsely or frivolously (the word normally translated as “in vain” literally means “for falsehood”). There’s also this, from Jesus: > [@Matthew 5:24-27](#): > > But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/19 "2019-02-24T16:29:34Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I know what you mean, but **swearing** , in the literal, “I solemnly swear…” sense, is precisely what the third commandment is about, according to the [Judaism 101](http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm#Writing) site: > There’s also this, from Jesus: Yes, but I didn’t mean swearing as in oath taking. I guess the word I should have used was obscenities. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091/20 "2019-02-24T17:31:39Z")
**Aspidistra** actually got closer than most people do. Dennis Prager once explained that the Hebrew would be better translated as “Do not carry the LORD’s name in vain.” So do not claim to be a Christian and do or say things that violate God’s commands. Members of Westboro Baptist is a prime example of living violations of the 3rd commandment. If anyone actually looked, they would see that they are an anomaly and not accepted by other Baptists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gosh-golly-jeez-oh-pete/830091.md?page=2)