begorra

Emerald Isle expletive

Begorra is a mild Irish oath, a softened form of "by God" used to avoid blasphemy.

It appears almost exclusively in stage-Irish dialect or humorous imitations of Irish speech: Begorra, 'tis a fine day!

The word is rarely used by actual Irish speakers today and carries a whiff of stereotype.

exclamation

faith

Trust without proof

blimeyBritish surprise interjection
gadzooksObsolete oath of astonishment
gollyGentle exclamation of surprise

goodness · gracious · heavens · lordy · strewth · tarnation · crikey · zounds · gosh · egad

euphemism

by God

Emphatic religious oath

bejabbersIrish mild expletive
bejesusEmphatic fright intensifier
profanityVulgar or obscene speech

blasphemy · oath · swear · expletive · taboo · sanitized · polite · substitute · mild · inoffensive

Irish

Ireland

North Atlantic island republic

GaelicCeltic linguistic tradition
CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
DublinIrish capital city

shamrock · leprechaun · Guinness · Blarney · Eire · Hibernian · St. Patrick · brogue · craic · Erin

Opposites

profanity/blasphemy level

begorragoddamn

Profane intensifier expressing frustration

by God · Jesus Christ · damn · bloody hell · hell

cultural/ethnic association

begorrablimey

British surprise interjection

crikey · sacré bleu · oy vey · Gesundheit · mamma mia

Family

begorrah, begorah

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Timeless · Abstract · Everyday, not technical · Rated G