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The meaning and origin of the expression: By gum

By gum

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What's the meaning of the phrase 'By gum'?

Exclamation of surprise. This is an example of a minced-oath, and is a euphemism for 'By God'.

What's the origin of the phrase 'By gum'?

It is known since the early 19th century, as in this example from James Kirke Paulding, in the novel Bucktails, circa 1815:

"By gum, that's jist what I want you to tell me, I swow."

The meaning and origin of the phrase 'By gum'.'By gum' is a forerunner of 'ee bah gum' the Yorkshire expression that is still in use in the north of England, although would be considered archaic elsewhere.

This is first recorded as the title of a 1921 song, Eeh! By Gum, It Were a Real Fine Do! by the English vocal duo Kirkby Hudson.

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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