The use of 'Gosh'...in real life?

[JinglingHellsBells]

I've recently seen posters using this on MN yet in real life I don't know anyone using it in speech.

The only person I know who uses it a lot is my Mum's neighbour, in her late 80s, and even as a child I thought it was quite antiquated and '1950s'.

I simply don't know anyone who says that word now.

(and I'm solidly middle class with educated middle class friends, if that makes any difference.)

I did mention a key book earlier, and the academic sub-specialty @Destroyedpeople. I referred you to a blogger who’s inspired me to educate myself on something I previously knew nothing about. I’m not sure what else you want - for me to escort you to the library?

I don’t keep line references and Harvard referencing of my reading but perhaps I ought to start.

Or should I just look up shit on the first page of Google because a search engine put it there?

Christians, certainly in the UK, aren’t marginalised in the same way as black people or those with disabilities.

Maybe not so much now but Irish Catholics were most definitely marginalised.
My parents talked about the ‘No blacks, no Irish (Catholics), no dogs’ signs in shops & pubs in the ‘60s/‘70s when they moved to London.

I am a hundred per cent sure that I am more widely read than you are Mrs 'lots of books'.
Here's a top tip....don't tell people to 'educate themselves' when you are spouting bollocks.

Holey Moley! Gosh! Is that the time? 1.10am?

I don't think brits were that bothered if the Irish were Catholic or not they just assumed.

Yes, I’ve heard that too @WhattheHhashappened. They still burn a Catholic effigy in Lewes and the heir to the throne is still (I think - it was being debated recently) barred from marrying or becoming a Catholic. I don’t know any minced oaths about the Virgin Mary though - and I don’t watch father Ted .

My partner uses golly all the time, and is also anti-racist. I'm not going to pull him up on it.

Disagree all you like, but educate yourself first

Bingo. The ‘educate yourself’ trope arrives after post after post of insisting on a definition that others disagree with. Maybe take your own advice and listen to others on here showing you the actual derivation of the word. Golly and golly gosh are slightly archaic slang but they aren’t the same as gollywog as hard as you are trying to insist that it is.

Those saying golly or golly gosh aren’t being consciously or unconsciously racist. It’s just an exclamation. Someone referring to someone else as a gollywog certainly would be - though it’s long time since Robertson’s had them on their jam jars or they were sold in toy shops and I would be surprised if it would even be in the lexicon now of someone wanting to use a racial slur.

You are deliberately mixing up the two meanings. Give it a rest.

What exactly is it that you object to so much, @Destroyedpeople?

Is it the word “golly”?

Is it someone daring to suggest that it might be far more offensive than intended, and therefore best allowed to drop into language oblivion?

Is it black people daring to find your supposedly innocuous term offensive and daring to write about why that might be so?

Yes, I do read lots of books. But I’m not going to get into a pissing contest about how many, because we’re not eight years old and in the Puffin Club.

threads like these make me terrified that I inadvertently offend people constantly with what i think is normal conversation.

We do use the word "Gosh" at home but that is mainly cause we are Christians and I really hate "oh my God" - but also because ive noticed that some of the (often american) gaming websites my son watches the host will often use "Oh my Gosh" so i thought it was fairly mainstream and not old fashion at all. We never use the word "Golly" but i am not going to lie, on occasions I have used worse swear words infront of my children (immediately regretted it) and so far as i know we never use racist terminology etc.

i have been known to say "flipping heck" and i dont know whether that would be deemed to be offensive to anyone over hearing me and if it was i would not have wanted to cause said offense.

In fact the effigy burnt at Lewes is Pope Paul the fifth who ordered 17 protestants to be burnt at the stake.
It's against papistry/popery not catholicism. Educate youself a bit.

Nobody showed the derivation of the word. They cut and pasted from Wiki or Google Adwords or Urban Dictionaries or whatever it is that passes for knowledge now.

I’d love to link the OED and the many articles on acculturation on JSTOR but as I’m not a subscriber I can’t. If you’re an academic and can, please do.

I don't even use the word 'golly' you silly woman. Get a grip.

don’t know any minced oaths about the Virgin Mary though
Very true! The only one I know is ‘Mary mother of God!!!!’- as in ‘For goodness sake!’ or ‘What on earth?!’

I definitely agree I ought to educate myself about Catholicism and Irish History. We were taught nothing about the Troubles in school and our ignorance has done us no favours in the lead up to Brexit. Why was it omitted from the curriculum? Because it didn’t suit the narrative of our ruling class. Some parallels there.

Lewes is East Sussex not Ireland. Stop making assumptions.

Eh?

@breadcakebiscuits

Can someone tell me why it’s so important to be able to continue saying “Golly” or “Golly gosh” when it gives offence, but not okay to say “retard” because it offends those who have mental handicaps. It’s been eye-opening for me to see some of the vitriol here. There are plenty more minced oaths without such problematic connotations so why not let it quietly drop from use as we have “retard” or “cretin”?

What a ridiculous comparison. Retard and cretin were always derogatory words. Golly is an 18th century mixed oath. It's derivation has nothing to do with gollywog. It's not a word I even put use but your patronising, ignorant arrogance is appalling.

I’m off to bed.

Stay angry with me if it helps you feel better about yourself .

threads like these make me terrified that I inadvertently offend people constantly with what i think is normal conversation.

Don’t feel like that - it’s what the bullies like a certain poster wants people to feel so that they can guilt you into believing their loaded codswallop.

I am not 'angry' with you I just think you are a bit silly. Maybe take one of your 'lots of books' to bed with you....

Bread Are you in the US?
You wrote mental handicaps upthread.
This is a good example of an outdated (and for many, offensive) expression here in the UK.
It’s a minefield.

The outdated word being ‘handicap’.

@WhattheHhashappened

Bread Are you in the US? You wrote mental handicaps upthread. This is a good example of an outdated (and for many, offensive) expression here in the UK. It’s a minefield.

Indeed- Bread is so puffed up with the vanity of her own righteousness she is incapable of seeing how offensive her own posts are.