You may have heard someone use the term ‘heavens to betsy’ whilst listening to an English conversation. But what is the meaning of this saying? We are going to take a look at its meaning and where the saying came from in the first place. We will also see how the term can be used in our every day conversations.
Heavens to Betsy
“Heavens to Betsy” Meaning
When you hear someone say the words ‘heavens to betsy,’ they are using it as an exclamation to convey surprise, disdain or any other emotion that has caught them off guard. The term is a variation of the phrase ‘for heavens sake.’
Origin of this idiom
The phrase ‘heavens to betsy’ is an old fashioned phrase which was originally used to more politely express the meaning of the terms ‘for Christ’s sake‘ or ‘for Gods sake.’ These two terms are seen to be offensive and of a blasphemous nature and so ‘heavens to betsy’ is a less offensive way of saying those things.
Examples of “Heavens to Betsy”
Examples in Conversation
This is a statement made by someone who has just found an old photograph.
- ‘Heavens to betsy, I forgot that I had met the president before. Look at this photograph of us together.’
Here is a statement that is made by a mother to her child.
- ‘Look at this mess! Heavens to betsy, this is going to take me forever to clean up.’
Conversation Examples
If you are curious to see how the term ‘heavens to betsy’ would fit into a conversation, here are some examples of how it might look.
The first conversation is occurring between two friends who have just bumped into one another out and about.
- Person 1: “Hello Jackie, it’s been a long time since I saw you.”
- Person 2: “Heavens to betsy, it certainly has. How have you been?”
This next conversation is between a grandmother and her granddaughter.
- Person 1: “Grandma, look at this project I have been working on at school”
- Person 2: “That is really very good, did you do that all by yourself?”
- Person 1: “Yes, grandma.”
- Person 2: “Heavens to betsy, what a clever granddaughter I have.”
Other Ways to Say the Phrase
There are other examples of how you might say the term ‘heavens to betsy’ using different wording, here are some of them.
- Goodness gracious me
- For goodness sake
- Goodness me
- Heavens to Murgatroyd
- For heaven sakes
- Oh my goodness
- OMG
What Does “Heavens to Betsy” Mean? | Image
Last Updated on January 10, 2021