Mary and Joseph
Bethlehem's famous couple
Mary and Joseph is a mild oath expressing surprise or exasperation, invoking the parents of Jesus: Mary and Joseph, what happened here?
The phrase functions like other religious exclamations—*Jesus*, *Christ*, *Lord*—but feels more old-fashioned and less sharp.
It appears in Irish English and Catholic communities more than elsewhere.
- Holy FamilyChrist with his parents
- BethlehemNativity's traditional setting
- no room at the innNo vacancies available
- NazarethGalilean city of faith
- mangerLivestock feeding container
stable · donkey · inn · carpenter · virgin · virgin birth · angel · Gabriel · shepherds · wise men · swaddling · swaddling clothes · baby Jesus · Christmas · nativity · holy · blessed · infant
- Bible FamiliesAdam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, patriarchs, matriarchs
- Biblical Marriagemarriage covenant, bride, husband and wife, bridegroom, groom
- GospelsJesus, gospels, Jesus Christ, apostles, Gospel of Mark
- Posadaspilgrims, door knocking, inn, innkeeper, lodging
- Bible StoriesAdam and Eve, David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, Jonah and the whale, nativity
social status
Mary and JosephKing Herod
Caesar Augustus · royalty · King Solomon · aristocracy · Herod the Great
religious narrative role
Mary and JosephKing Herod
Herod the Great · Satan · Pharaoh · Judas Iscariot · Adam and Eve