blimey
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈblaɪmi/
rhymes: -aɪmi
Forms: form: blimy
Etymology: A minced oath derived from (God) blind me (either concurrent with or from a clipping of cor blimey or gorblimey), or blame me. Compare crivvens, drat, etc.
Senses: examples: text: Blimey! I didn’t see that!
text: Blimey! Where did you come from?
text: I know the chap that started the lie. There ain't no Invisible Man whatsoever—Blimey.
ref: 1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “At Port Stowe”, in The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC, page 120:
text: 'But, if there's room, aren't they bound to take me in?' / 'Course they are,—and, blimey, if I was you I'd make 'em. Blimey I would!'
ref: 1897 September, Richard Marsh [pseudonym; Richard Bernard Heldmann], “Outside”, in The Beetle: A Mystery, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin […], published August 1907, →OCLC, book I (The House with the Open Window), page 4:
text: Blimy if I don't believe 'e's taking 'ome 'is washing up his back.
ref: 1908 September, Jerome K[lapka] Jerome, “Passing of the Third Floor Back”, in Passing of the Third Floor Back, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC, page 2:
text: If you're the O'Reilly, they speak of so highly, / Why blime me, O'Reilly, you're doing quite well.
ref: 1915, Harry S. Miller, “Blime Me, O’Reilly (You’re Doing Quite Well) [cover title: Blime Me Mr. O’Reilly but You’re Looking Mighty Well]”, New York, N.Y.: The Cadillac Music; Springfield, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.: A. H. Goetting, →OCLC, page 5:
english: cover title: Blime Me Mr. O’Reilly but You’re Looking Mighty Well
translation: cover title: Blime Me Mr. O’Reilly but You’re Looking Mighty Well
text: "Blimey," he said, "this is a bit er orl roight! Never thought yer'd be ible to tork our lingo like a blinkin' nitive. Cahm orn—let's 'op it to the kerridge!"
ref: 1919, The Windsor Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women, volume IV, London: Ward, Lock and Bowden, →OCLC, page 99, column 1:
text: "Blimey!" he says in his rough, shepherd's voice, "blimey, but it's cruel 'ard to be chucked out of one's digs wivout a blarsted word! [...]"
ref: 1935, Kenneth [Lewis] Roberts, “For Authors Only”, in For Authors Only: And Other Gloomy Essays, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, →OCLC, page 11:
text: ‘Blimy, Will,’ he said confidentially.
ref: 1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, New York, N.Y.: Random House, published 2010, →ISBN:
text: ‘Blimey,’ said Barnaby. ‘Come on, Jack, quick as you can.’ / ‘Blimey,’ said Jack. ‘Blimey blimey blimey.’
ref: 1996, Penny Vincenzi, The Dilemma, London: Headline Review, published 2007, →ISBN, page 311:
text: ‘Blimey,’ said Laurie. ‘Is she serious? Was it something I said?’
ref: 2009, Duncan Campbell, chapter 5, in If It Bleeds, London: Headline Publishing Group, published 2011, →ISBN:
text: According to an Australian gunner, 'a nostalgic little new-arrival' among the Tommies asked: 'Is it true all you Aussies are volunteers?' When told that it was, '… he hesitated a moment. Then he blurted out: "Blime, choom, y' must 've 'ad a fair ——— of a 'ome-life!"'
ref: 2013, Mark Johnston, “Introduction”, in Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian Soldiers, Their Allies and the Local People in World War II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 1:
synonyms: word: wow
word: adzooks
word: ay
word: caramba
word: chihuahua
word: begorra
word: bleeding heck
word: bleeding Nora
word: bless my heart
word: bless my soul
word: bless us
word: blige
word: blimey
word: bloody hell
word: bloody Nora
word: blow me
word: blow me backwards
word: blow me down
word: blow me over
word: blow me pink
word: blow me tight
word: blow me up
word: blow my buttons
word: butter my butt and call me a biscuit
word: by all that is holy
word: by Allah
word: by cracky
word: by George
word: by God
word: by golly
word: by gum
word: by gummy
word: by jingo
word: by Jove
word: by juckies
word: by Jupiter
word: by thunder
word: by the living jingo
word: byrlady
word: Christ
word: Christ alive
word: Christ almighty
word: Christ on a bike
word: Christ on a cracker
word: Christ on a raft
word: cor
word: cor blimey
word: cor lummy
word: cowabunga
word: crikey
word: criminy
word: cripes
word: crivvens
word: chuffing hell
word: dear God
word: dear me
word: dearie me
word: deary me
word: dear Lord
word: diggety
word: eep
word: egad
word: egads
word: ermahgerd
word: fancy that
word: flaming Nora
word: flipping heck
word: flipping Nora
word: fuark
word: fuck me
word: fucking hell
word: fucking Nora
word: gad so
word: Gadsbodikins
word: gadsbud
word: gadzooks
word: gaw
word: gee
word: gee whiz
word: gee willikers
word: geeminy
word: geez
word: geez Louise
word: geshmak
word: get out of town
word: glory be
word: God Almighty
word: God in heaven
word: God's teeth
word: good golly
word: golly
word: golly gee willikers
word: golly gosh
word: good God
word: good gracious
word: good gravy
word: good grief
word: good heavens
word: good Lord
word: goodness
word: goodness gracious
word: goodness gracious me
word: goodness me
word: googly-moogly
word: gorblimey
word: Gordon Bennett
word: gosh
word: gosh all hemlock
word: gracious
word: gramercy
word: great balls of fire
word: great Caesar
word: great Caesar's ghost
word: great googly moogly
word: great Scott
word: gyatt
word: hallo
word: hello
word: heavens
word: heavens above
word: heavens to Betsy
word: heavens to Murgatroyd
word: hell's bells
word: hey
word: heyday
word: hold up
word: holy buckets
word: holy cannoli
word: holy cow
word: holy crap
word: holy crap on a cracker
word: holy cricket
word: holy crickets
word: holy crud
word: holy dignity
word: holy doodle
word: holy fuck
word: holy fuck knuckles
word: holy guacamole
word: holy Hannah
word: holy hell
word: holy kamoley
word: holy kamoly
word: holy macaroni
word: holy mackerel
word: holy magnum
word: holy moley
word: holy moly
word: holy man
word: holy Moses
word: Holy Mother
word: Holy Mother of God
word: holy ravioli
word: holy shit
word: holy stromboli
word: holy smoke
word: holy Toledo
word: hooly dooly
word: hot damn
word: I'll be
word: I'll be a dirty bird!
word: I'll be a monkey's uncle
word: I'll be a son of a bitch
word: I'll be a son of a gun
word: I'll be blowed
word: I'll be bound
word: I'll be buggered
word: I'll be damned
word: I'll be danged
word: I'll be darned
word: I'll be dashed
word: I'll be dipped
word: I'll be dipped in shit
word: I'll be hanged
word: I'll be hornswoggled
word: I'll be jiggered
word: I'll be shot
word: imagine that
word: I'm blowed
word: I say
word: Janey Mack
word: Jaysus
word: Jeebus
word: jeepers
word: jeepers creepers
word: jeez
word: jeez Louise
word: jeezy peeps
word: Jerusalem crickets
word: Jesum Crow
word: Jesus
word: Jesus Christ
word: Jesus fucking Christ
word: Jesus H. Christ
word: Mary and Joseph
word: Jesus Murphy
word: Jiminy Cricket
word: jings
word: jinkies
word: Judas Priest
word: jumping Jehoshaphat
word: jumping Jesus
word: knock me down with a feather
word: knock me over with a feather
word: land sakes
word: lauks
word: lawks
word: lawks a-mercy
word: lawl
word: leapin' lizards
word: Lord
word: Lord be praised
word: Lord love a duck
word: lordy
word: mama mia
word: mamma mia
word: man alive
word: mercy sakes
word: Mother of God
word: my
word: my conscience
word: my giddy aunt
word: my heavens
word: my sainted aunt
word: my sainted uncle
word: my God
word: my goodness
word: my gosh
word: my Lord
word: my my
word: my word
word: no way
word: O gemini
word: ods bodikin
word: odsfish
word: odzookens
word: oh
word: oh em gee
word: ohmigod
word: oh my
word: oh my days
word: oh my God
word: oh my Goddess
word: oh my goodness
word: oh my goodness gracious
word: oh my gosh
word: oh my hell
word: oh my heck
word: oh my fuck
word: oh my life
word: oh my Lord
word: oh my stars
word: oh my word
word: oi
word: OMG
word: omigod
word: omigosh
word: peas and rice
word: please
word: praise the Lord
word: rah
word: ruddy hell
word: ruddy Nora
word: sacré bleu
word: sakes alive
word: 'sblood
word: 'sdeath
word: shart
word: 'sheart
word: sheesh
word: shit fire and save matches
word: shitting Nora
word: shiver my timbers
word: shut my mouth
word: shut the front door
word: slap my ass and call me Judy
word: slap my ass and call me Sally
word: snakes alive
word: sodding hell
word: son of a gun
word: stone me
word: stone the crows
word: strewth
word: strike me pink
word: 'struth
word: suffering Sappho
word: suffering succotash
word: sweet Grandma on stilts
word: sweet Jesus
word: sweet Mary
word: sweet mother of God
word: sweet mother of Jesus
word: waow
word: well
word: I never
word: what
word: what do you know
word: whoa
word: whoah
word: wow
word: wowee
word: wowzers
word: ye gods
word: yikes
word: yikes bikes
word: you don't say
word: yowzah
word: zoiks
word: zoinks
word: ZOMG
word: ZOMFG
word: zooterkins
word: zound
word: zounds
word: zowie
glosses: Used to express anger, excitement, surprise, etc.
Derived terms: blimey Charlie
blimey O'Reilly
blimey O'Riley
cor blimey
gawd blimey
gorblimey
Related terms: damn my eyes
eff and blind
fuck me
I'll be
I'll be § Related terms