# Why Do Folks Always Say Jesus H. Christ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 9, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511 "2009-01-09T09:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dhodgson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@dhodgson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhodgson)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/1 "2009-01-09T09:54:44Z")
From [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/30/why-do-folks-say-jesus-h-christ:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/30/why-do-folks-say-jesus-h-christ:) Personally, I was always of the opinion that this was a loophole to avoid taking the Lord’s name in vain while still, err, still getting the point across. The “H” is irrelevant, it’s just become the defacto technical sin-avoidance modifier probably invented by whomever initially popularized this. -djh ---
**Author:** ![sfga6970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sfga6970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sfga6970)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/2 "2009-01-09T14:56:30Z")
People always say that the Immaculate Conception refers to the Conception of Christ, but I was taught by the Jesuits and they said that was actually the conception of Mary and that’s why she was born without original sin. Her’s was actually the Immaculate Conception. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/3 "2009-01-09T18:10:31Z")
Jesus H. Christ, what does that have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/4 "2009-01-09T19:21:17Z")
I always thought it was just a joke. C’mon, it’d be silly for Our Lord and Savior to have a middle initial. ---
**Author:** ![cmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/5 "2009-01-09T19:34:35Z")
Is there an error in the cartoon? It shows a towel with a monogram, with H as the center letter. Convention places the initial of the LAST name in the center, and I doubt Cecil meant the last name to have that initial. Charles ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/6 "2009-01-09T23:51:23Z")
> [@sfga6970](#): > > People always say that the Immaculate Conception refers to the Conception of Christ, but I was taught by the Jesuits and they said that was actually the conception of Mary and that’s why she was born without original sin. Her’s was actually the Immaculate Conception. Yes. The people who “always say” otherwise are always wrong. Except that your use of “why” is a little off – sorta like saying that the Virgin Birth is why Jesus was born of a virgin. All small-o orthodox Christians believe that Jesus was the son of a virgin. Roman Catholics, and (generally speaking) only Roman Catholics believe that Mary was not only innocent of actual sin, but free from original sin from the very moment of her conception in the womb of St. Anne. The first doctrine is the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. The second doctrine (which has been official only since 1854) is the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. As to other divisions of Christianity, the Eastern Orthodox (and, as far as I know, the ante-Chalcedonians) are none too sure that there is any such thing as original sin, and Protestants don’t believe in the Immaculate Conception because it ain’t in the Bible. Anglicans traditionally follow the Protestant line, but some Anglo-Catholics follow Rome in this matter. (_Some_ Anglo-Catholics follow Rome in just about anything, except for Papal Supremacy.) ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/7 "2009-01-12T21:25:09Z")
Where does IHS meaning _In Hoc Signo_ come into it? Or is it _Signa_? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/8 "2009-01-12T21:42:19Z")
[QUOTE=cmoose] Is there an error in the cartoon? It shows a towel with a monogram, with H as the center letter. Convention places the initial of the LAST name in the center, and I doubt Cecil meant the last name to have that initial. [/QUOTE] That would confuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/9 "2009-01-12T22:14:10Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > Where does IHS meaning _In Hoc Signo_ come into it? Or is it _Signa_? “In hoc signo” means, literally, “In this sign” – the full sentence is [In hoc signo vinces](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_hoc_signo_vinces), “In this sign you will conquer,” allegedly said by Christ in a dream to the Emperor Constantine. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/10 "2009-01-12T23:43:39Z")
Specifically referring to the chi-rho. But the connection with IHS is urban myth. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/11 "2009-01-12T23:58:47Z")
Although I wasn’t around at the time, I have heard that during WWII the common saying was “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/12 "2009-01-13T03:30:16Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > That would confuse me. That’s because you’ve seen it done wrong so many times. I blame the hiring policies at Things Remembered, the engraving and monogramming shops at many malls. If you hire high school kids you must assume many are idiots. The person’s surname has pride of place as the largest initial. His middle initial has no value except to balance the composition. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/13 "2009-01-13T07:43:51Z")
The Christogram (or logo of Christ’s name) **IHC** is an alternative for IHS, and is often found in old churches in the UK. It is a transliteration of the Greek iota-eta-sigma, with the sigma represented by a C rather than an S. See the following examples: [Oxford,Trinity College, Dining Hall](http://www.flickr.com/photos/22274117@N08/2778340663/) [Orchardleigh, St Mary](http://www.flickr.com/photos/22274117@N08/2491978793/) [Earlham Cemetery, Norwich, Norfolk](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/14141655/) [Guy’s Chapel](http://www.flickr.com/photos/yersinia/298439572/) [Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/659425419/) [Byz./Medieval Lady’s Christogram Silver ring on eBay](http://cgi.ebay.com/Byz-Medieval-Ladys-Christogram-Silver-ring-IHC_W0QQitemZ270326713348QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Antiquities?hash=item270326713348&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50) [Cross at Grace Cathedral](http://blog.wingerson.us/?p=374) [Church dedication: St Mary The Virgin, Long Stratton, Norfolk](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/2083862248/) [Church dedication: St Peter & St Paul, Lavenham, Suffolk](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/2194319081/) [Church dedication: St Mary the Virgin, Burston, Norfolk](http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/1660273496/) There are probably thousands of examples in English churches. It’s very easy to see that this could be taken as standing for Jesus H. Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/14 "2009-01-13T13:15:20Z")
> [@cmoose](#): > > Is there an error in the cartoon? It shows a towel with a monogram, with H as the center letter. Convention places the initial of the LAST name in the center, and I doubt Cecil meant the last name to have that initial. > Charles You are correct. True story – I knew a girl in college (I’m changing her name but keeping the initials the same); **C** atherine **M** ary **U** nderwood. She was fond of a particular sweater which prominently featured the type of monogram you describe, to the endless amusement of everyone else in the dorm. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/15 "2009-01-13T22:17:21Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Irishman > That would confuse me. That’s because you’ve seen it done wrong so many times. [/quote] No, it would be because I read from left to right. Name sequence is First, Middle, Last, with Middle in the **middle**. > [@](#): > > I blame the hiring policies at Things Remembered, the engraving and monogramming shops at many malls. If you hire high school kids you must assume many are idiots. Or that they are staffed by people who don’t know the conventions that don’t follow normal logic. > [@](#): > > The person’s surname has pride of place as the largest initial. His middle initial has no value except to balance the composition. I understand the logic. It just doesn’t fit _my_ logic. It’s kinda like the logo for Texas A&M. What, is that a college with a drive through window? [sub]A[/sub]T[sub]M[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/16 "2009-01-14T03:54:14Z")
As for the H, H is a funny letter and provides a clean pause between the two names. In its normal use it’s something like a song. Note the flow: down from _JE_ to _sus_ (two quarter notes), back up for the _aitch_ (a half note), then down with finality on the final note _CHRIST!_ (a whole note). Compare that with the exclamation, _JE-sus Christ!_ which has the drop in the first two quarter notes then back up for the half note. By ending on a long down note the first conveys anger, while by ending on a shorter up note the second sounds more full of wonder or exasperation. ETA: This moment of off-the-cuff bullshitting was brought to you by the letter H. ETAA: Does the drive thru at Texas A&M offer both diplomas and beer? 😉 ETAAA: Hey, my final paper in Linguistics was about profanity. I’m a expert! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![taoman58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@taoman58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taoman58)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/17 "2009-01-14T22:04:00Z")
Just a guess. Maybe the expression was coined during the Taft administration (1909-1913) when “H” was the presidential middle initial and was possibly ironically thrown about like we do with “W” right now? (Looks like “H” is coming back in style for presidential mockery…) ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/18 "2009-01-17T07:42:07Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Although I wasn’t around at the time, I have heard that during WWII the common saying was “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ.” Only in Diana Gabaldon books. I’m pretty sure she invented the phrase. The protagonist was a nurse and first learned of it in WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-folks-always-say-jesus-h-christ/480511/19 "2009-01-23T20:22:50Z")
Isn’t it obvious? His name as you can see is really, truly and always has been Jesus _Hussein_ Christ. We have been fooled. **Wake up sheeple!**