Meanings
- potentially offensiveAn expression of surprise, shock, etc.
Near-synonyms: Christ almighty; good God; Jesus, Mary and Joseph
5 more examples
In passing along the street we heard a man, who was expressing a very decided opinion, say, “By Jesus H. Christ it is so.” Since that time we heard an individual who had “stubbed his toe” against the end of a plank cry, “By John D. God, I’ll sue the City.”
1857 May 20, “Swearing as one of the Fine Arts”, in J[ames] T. Hildreth, D[avid] N[elson] Richardson, editors, Daily Iowa State Democrat, volume 2, number 184, Davenport, Ia.: George R. West, →ISSN, →OCLC, page [3], column 2Jake: Yes! Yes! Jesus H. tap-dancing Christ, I have seen the light!
1980 June, Dan Aykroyd, John Landis, The Blues Brothers, Universal PicturesStanton Boyd: Jesus H. Christ on a popsicle stick. First of all... Alan Stanwyk does not own one single share of stock.
1985, Andrew Bergman, Fletch, Universal Pictures“I’m gonna get outta their way,” he mutters, then snorts without mirth. “All I had were jacks.” We believe him, of course. What are jacks, after all, once Beelzebub and Jesus H. Christ get involved?
2004, James McManus, Positively Fifth Street“Jesus H. Christ on the cross,” he said. He caught my reflected gaze and held it. “How long have you known about this?”
2004, Marsha Moyer, The Last of the Honky-tonk AngelsSynonyms: Jesus Harold Christ, Christ almighty, good God, Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionAn expression of surprise, shock, etc.
Origin
Unknown. An extension of Jesus Christ with a fantastical middle initial, perhaps derived from a reading of ΙΗΣ (IĒS) (sometimes ΙΗϹ (IĒS), using a lunate sigma), a Greek-alphabet abbreviation for Jesus (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ) as three initials in Latin letters. See "Christogram" at Wikipedia. The earliest use of the phrase is unknown, although according to Mark Twain (1835–1910) it was already common in the region of Hannibal, Missouri, when he was a boy.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Jesus H. Christ. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jesus%20H.%20Christ
“Jesus H. Christ.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jesus%20H.%20Christ. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jesus H. Christ,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jesus%20H.%20Christ.
Source: Jesus H. Christ on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.