Michael Quinion at http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hea1.htm says:
The meaning is simple enough: it's just a mild exclamation of shock or surprise. It is almost exclusively an American expression, associated in my mind with mature females of the Prohibition era or earlier (though this may just be a reflection of my recent reading). As to where it came from, nobody has the slightest idea.[...] The big Oxford English Dictionary has a first citation from 1914, but I'’m told it can be found as far back as 1891. Some have tried to trace it to the Revolutionary War and to Betsy Ross, but have failed; others think it may have something to do with the frontiersman's rifle, often called Old Betsy, but there's no evidence that saying and name are associated...
But Kate Scott at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/02/1072908889789.
html?from=storyrhs says:
In our family, the saying was "heavens to Murgatroyd" - I can only presume that Betsy was Murgatroyd's wife.
I've never heard 'Murgatroyd' before... did I miss something? ...okay, don't answer that.
2 comments:
I must have missed it too, 'cause I'm very confused.
You guys are sooooooo young!!!!
Heavens to Murgatroid is a very old saying as well. I don't know which came first but I have heard both my whole life!
Mom
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