jiminy

English

Alternative forms

• geeminy, geminy, gemony, jeminy, jimminy

Etymology

An alteration of earlier Gemini (“an expression of mild surprise or annoyance”); see there for more.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɪməni/

Interjection

jiminy

1. (dated) An expression of mild surprise or annoyance.
   • 1917, Elaine Sterne, The Road of Ambition, New York, N.Y.: Britton Publishing Company, page 120:

     He sat up with a jerk. "Holy Jiminy! How did you figure all that out?"

   • 1956, Joe Evans Brown, Laughter Is a Wonderful Thing, New York, N.Y.: A. S. Barnes and Company, page 77:

     "Jimminy!" I thought. "Now I can do my Christmas shopping just like anybody." I dashed out along the town's main street to look at the glowing store windows and ponder what to buy.

   • 1968, Peter Dickinson, The Glass-Sided Ant's Nest, New York, N.Y., Evanston, I.L.: Harper & Row, Publishers, page 23:

     A hand touched her arm, in the crook of the bare flesh inside the elbow. Jiminy, how quietly they could all move! She looked sideways and up, through the dark.

   • 2007, Tricia Boone, Melissa Thompson, The Stormholder, Nashville, T.N.: Cold Tree Press, →ISBN, page 137:

     "Oh, jimminy," yelled Katie. "Don't you..." she warned, as the brew drizzled into her palms. Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the table.

Usage notes

• May also be used to indicate seriousness when preceded by "I wish to" or "I swear to".

Derived terms

• by Jiminy
• jiminy Christmas
• Jiminy Cricket

 

Further reading

• “jiminy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “jiminy”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “Jiminy, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.