Meaning
What does Golly Gee mean?
Golly Gee is an old-fashioned informal interjection expressing surprise or excitement.
Origin
What's the origin of Golly Gee?
The term is made up of two euphemisms, namely “Golly” is the alteration of “God” while “Gee” is euphemistic of “Jesus”.
As for the Christians and Jews the Ten Commandments forbids taking the Lord’s name in vain, these words were handy when shouting the name of God in surprise or anger.
The word “golly “first appeared in England in 1775 in Gilbert White’s journal, while “gee” only appeared in 1895.
Spread & Usage
How did Golly Gee spread?
The exclamation was rather widespread in the second half of the 20th century which is no surprise as it appeared in many different movies, tv shows, and series throughout the decades since 1960.
Just to name some examples: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), West Side Story (1961), The Jetsons (1962), The Hardy boys (1977), Vacation (1983), The Muppet Show (1986), Waterworld (1995) or F Is for Family (2015).
According to the Urban Dictionary post of “Golly Gee” posted in 2004 “golly gee” is rather used nowadays instead of swearing in front of elders or religious people.
