great Caesar's ghost
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Allusion to the play The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar by William Shakespeare, in which Roman emperor Julius Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus. Used as euphemism in place of good God or similar expressions. Made popular in the 1940s and 1950s by the Superman radio program and comic books as a catchphrase of the character Perry White.
Interjection[edit]
- (now often humorous) An exclamation of astonishment; good Lord.
- 1883, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “A Cub-pilot's Experience”, in Life on the Mississippi, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, →OCLC:
- 'By the great Caesar's ghost, I believe you! You're the stupidest dunderhead I ever saw or ever heard of, so help me Moses! The idea of you being a pilot—you! Why, you don't know enough to pilot a cow down a lane.'
- 1936, F. Hugh Herbert, The Case of the Black Cat, spoken by Perry Mason (Ricardo Cortez):
- Great Caesar's ghost, what is it this?
- 2007 October 1, Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady, Robert Cohen, “The Big Bran Hypothesis”, in The Big Bang Theory, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Sheldon (Jim Parsons):
- Great Caesar's ghost! Look at this place.