honest to God/goodness
honest to God
1. expression Honestly; truly; genuinely. Used to emphasize the veracity of one's statement. I swear it wasn't me who broke the lamp, honest to God! Honest to God, how are we supposed to finish this project on time with half of our staff laid off?
2. adjective Genuine; actual. In this uage, the phrase is hyphenated. It was a real, honest-to-God treasure map. I couldn't believe me eyes.
honest to goodness
1. expression Honestly; truly; genuinely. Used to emphasize the veracity of one's statement. "Goodness" here is a substitution of the word "God," so as to avoid potential blasphemy. I swear it wasn't me who broke the lamp, honest to goodness! Honest to goodness, how are we supposed to finish this project on time with half of our staff laid off?
2. adjective Genuine; actual. In this uage, the phrase is hyphenated. It was a real, honest-to-goodness treasure map. I couldn't believe me eyes.
Honest to goodness.
and Honest to God.; Honest to Pete.I speak the truth. (Some people may object to the use of God in this phrase.) Did he really say that? Honest to goodness? Honest to Pete, I've been to the South Pole.
honest to God
Also, honest to goodness or Pete ; honest Injun. Truly, really, as in Honest to God, I didn't know it was yours, or Honest to goodness, we had exactly the same experience, or I promise I'll finish in time, honest to Pete, or Honest Injun, I didn't take your wallet. These colloquial assertions date from about 1900, except for honest Injun, dating from the late 1800s and today considered offensive.