by thunder
Old-fashioned surprise expression
By thunder is a mild oath expressing surprise, emphasis, or determination.
It belongs to a family of euphemistic exclamations that invoke weather or nature instead of God: By thunder, I think you're right!
The phrase sounds old-fashioned and theatrical, more likely encountered in period fiction than modern speech.
- egadDated mild oath
- lightningAtmospheric electrical discharge
- flashBrief burst of light
- wowCry of amazement
- for crying out loudExclamation of frustration
bolt · good grief · land sakes · I declare · well I never · boom · mercy me · crikey · great Scott · good heavens · blimey · gadzooks · zounds · upon my word · oh my · crack · storm · holy cow
by thundersilence
Total lack of sound
meh · whatever · I suppose · if you say so · shrug
by thundergoddamn
Profane intensifier expressing frustration
by God · damn it · hell · Jesus Christ · for God's sake
by thunderoh well
Expression of mild resignation
never mind · it doesn't matter · who cares · so be it · c'est la vie
by, thunder, thunders, thundered, thundering, thunderous, thunderously, thunderbolt, thunderclap