Sermon Central
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Jumping Jehoshaphat
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 9, 2022 (message contributor)
Where does the expression “jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!” come from? A reader wrote in to ask, and I had a lovely time trying to figure it out. No one is sure how Jehoshaphat’s name ended up in this interjection, or why he’s jumping, but there are several interesting possibilities.
This mild oath first appeared in a novel from 1866, when a cowboy-backwoodsman used it to convey his surprise and admiration at how far a horse (and its beautiful rider) had jumped: “By the jumpin’ Geehosofat, what a gurl she air sure enuf!” It later became a favorite saying of cartoon cowboy Yosemite Sam, the adversary of Bugs Bunny.
Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! (and just plain Jehoshaphat!) originated in the United States during the 19th-century craze for “minced oaths,” pseudo-swearwords that replaced profane or blasphemous words with inoffensive ones. These not-quite oaths could be quite poetic: They rhymed (holy moly!), used alliteration (jumpin’ Jupiter!), and were fun to say (gee willikers!). Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat follows suit. [csmonitor.com]
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