824: gordon bennett and gorblimey Mar 11, 2017

To anyone traveling to another country: while it's always more convenient if your native language is spoken, there are always going to be slang and other phrases that might be unrecognizable. In England, 'Gordon Bennett' is an expression of shock, but it isn't used in other English-speaking nations. The exclamation is an reference to James Gordon Bennett Jr. who was an American publisher and sports-sponsor, but was regarded infamously as a trouble-maker. The reason that this name—excluding his forename—caught on as slang as opposed to the many other lewd and obnoxious wealthy people of his time, is thought to be due to the relation to 'gorblimey'. This word comes from the phrase, 'God blind me'; it was normal to alter phrases that included the word, 'God' in this era as also occurred with 'gadzooks'. While 'gorblimey' was also later used as a term to denote odd or cheap clothing, 'blimey'—which originates from the same phrase—was only ever used as an exclamation.