Land sakes

Posted by Al on March 25, 2003

In Reply to: Land sakes posted by R. Berg on March 25, 2003

: : Hi Sir/Madam,

: : I have come across the phrase "Land sakes....." many times (in movies, in articles...) but could not find the meaning for it. Can anybody help me out ?

: : English is not my mother tongue. If you find my question silly, please bear with me.

: :
: : Louis.

: "Land sakes" or "land sakes alive" doesn't have a meaning in the conventional sense; it's just an exclamation of surprise. It may be a Minced oath (a softened form of swearing), a substitute for "For the Lord's sake." Many questions asked here are much sillier than that, and some of them are asked by native English speakers.

In the rural southeast US it was very common, as Berg states, as a minced oath (a softened form of swearing), a substitute for "For the Lord's sake." Often "lands sakes" or "lands sakes alive".