Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- interjection Used to express surprise or annoyance.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- interjection slang Exclamation of
fright ,incredibility ,shock ,surprise oranger .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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” But jeez, is it working for you, using that term? —
Think Progress » Frustrated by Facts, Right-Wing Turns to Fiction Author For Policy Advice 2005
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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. from Ethan3 wrote 15 weeks 6 days ago jeez, that is a lot of fish. im sure it was a fun day for him.
Video: Guinness Book Record for Most Fish Caught in 24 Hours 2009
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All Comments from Ethan3 wrote 15 weeks 6 days ago jeez, that is a lot of fish. im sure it was a fun day for him.
Video: Guinness Book Record for Most Fish Caught in 24 Hours 2009
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And the men went to their defensive position and I had been away from troops from combat troops OK I'd had a battalion at Ft. Lewis just before I came to Vietnam on this tour but I'd been away from the war for a couple years and I was nervous as Nellie you know I grabbed the radio and thought, "jeez," I hope I don't blow this thing.
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It prevents websites from running scripts unless you specifically allow them to; I went to the nytimes. com website and couldn’t figure out what you were complaining about until I remembered to turn it off (and jeez, that is bloody annoying).
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And if you don't want to offend Christians, "jeez" or "cripes" are out of bounds too ..!
Ryan Tomayko gilesbowkett.blogspot.com 2009
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And if you don't want to offend Christians, "jeez" or "cripes" are out of bounds too ..!
Ryan Tomayko 2009
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The documentary was great, esp the collaboration at the end with Bono - jeez if I am getting that right.
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The VP elected separately …. jeez we tried that …. back then the VP was a better shot.
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But jeez, that actually wasn't what I was trying to write here at all.
More players on Shanahan vs. Zorn Dan Steinberg 2010
skipvia commented on the word jeez
After more than 50 years of using this term, it just dawned on me that it's short for "jesus," as in bejeezus, a.k.a. "bejesus."
I'll have to remember not to use this around church people anymore.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
In this area it sometimes morphs into jeez o man. I have no idea what that is. ;-)
October 15, 2007
uselessness commented on the word jeez
I always hear jeez oh pete's.
October 15, 2007
skipvia commented on the word jeez
I've also heard "jeez-o peez-o," which I like very much.
October 15, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word jeez
Skipv, honestly, who can live without this word?
October 16, 2007
skipvia commented on the word jeez
Well, apparently not me. I must have used it 20 times today. I mean, jeez...
October 16, 2007
kad commented on the word jeez
i like "jeez louise" myself.
October 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
I always wondered about that Louise.
October 16, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word jeez
Being the non-religious sort, I prefer "jiminy," short for "jiminy cricket," as an alternative.
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word jeez
Hmm.... still religious, apparently:
"exclamation of surprise, 1803, a disguised oath, probably for Jesu Domine "Jesus Lord." Extended form jiminy cricket is attested from 1848"
(from www.etymonline.com)
That Jesu sure gets around.
October 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Wait--Jiminy Cricket was named after Jesus? My head is spinning.
October 16, 2007
uselessness commented on the word jeez
"Who's in the house? J.C.!"
October 16, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word jeez
What?! No! Now I have to stop saying jiminy cricket. Oh balls. (Don't tell me that's religious, too.) *grumbling to self in disgust*
October 17, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word jeez
Now I'm wondering if the entire Pinocchio story is a thinly veiled religious lesson. Hmmm.
October 17, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Could very well be, when you think about it.
October 17, 2007
uselessness commented on the word jeez
Wasn't the Jiminy Cricket character just fabricated for the Disney cartoon, and named for the phrase? Pretty sure he didn't exist in the original story.
October 17, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
No, talking crickets were in the original story, but not Jiminy Cricket the character.
Actually, the original was very much a hard-luck tale--and gruesome. Also political, based on the climate of Tuscany at the time.
October 17, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word jeez
Well, this wouldn't be the first time someone accused Disney of making an old story into a religious, racial, or even sexual parable.
October 18, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word jeez
Didn't JC act as Pinocchio's conscience (and savior) in the Disney version? Kind of creepy.
October 19, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word jeez
Why is that creepy?
October 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word jeez
Better an icky insect than, um, nothing. Remember, Pinocchio was a blockhead.
October 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Quite literally.
October 19, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word jeez
You gotta hand it to Disney, though--they made an icky insect less of an icky insect and more an annoying flibbertigibbet that reminds you of nothing so much as ... well, a conscience.
In spats. What's up with the damn spats?
October 20, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word jeez
Crickets are only icky when you keep them confined to cages for weeks. Then the smell gets pretty intense.
October 20, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word jeez
You mean the rotting cricket chitin? Or the spats?
Wait... does chitin even rot? Or just degrade?
October 21, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word jeez
Actually it's the frass, as well as the expired crickets themselves. Ugh.
October 21, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Haha! Chained_bear: "What's up with the damn spats?"
I always wondered that!
October 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word jeez
Spats are cool, dammit!
October 22, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
But decidedly less cool on a cricket, I think, than on a human. ;-)
October 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word jeez
What if the cricket is your conscience?
October 23, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
My conscience wouldn't be caught dead in spats, I'm afraid. Now boot slippers--they're a whole different type of footwear. ;-)
October 23, 2007
trivet commented on the word jeez
My conscience definitely wears spats. And has a twirly cane.
NOT a cricket, though.
I only have one word for boot slippers: uggly!
October 23, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Wow! Snazzy conscience you have there, trivet!
I don't wear boot slippers, really. Nor would my conscience. Lately, in fact, my conscience has taken to wearing clown shoes. I don't know what it thinks it's up to.
October 23, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word jeez
Listen, don't get me wrong: spats rock. Out loud on toast. But not on that annoying, loudmouth cricket with the disproportionately large head! Who's he trying to kid, walking upright on two legs? And wearing a silk top hat, for Pete's sake?!
And who the hell is Pete?!
*froths*
October 23, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jeez
Jiminy's brother?
October 23, 2007
cathari commented on the word jeez
Wonder if Pete is St. Peter?
--But yeah, I always assumed that words like "jeez" were formed because no one actually wanted to blaspheme, but they wanted to use the useful phrase for that use (not to be used for the other use). So they figured that if they weren't actually saying "Jesus", it wasn't blasphemy, even if that's what they meant. Or perhaps they started to say it and bit it off short because they remembered they didn't want to say it.
October 31, 2007
Prolagus commented on the word jeez
See also enclitic.
June 30, 2008