Meanings
- USdatedUsed by Christians for swearing without being overtly vulgar or blasphemous.
"Land o' Goshen! sence I've come t' the happy land, as I call it, I ain't hed no sech tea as I used t'."
1884, Lydia Wood Baldwin, A Yankee School-teacher in Virginia, New York: Funk and Wagnalls, page 2101 more example
Stomp on the moon and spit in the ocean / Razzamatazz and I love you / Holy smokes and Land o' Goshen / You can do anything that you want to do.
1971, “Suicide Song”, in Loudon Wainwright III (lyrics), Album II, performed by Loudon Wainwright III
Origin
- Hebrewאֶרֶץ־גֹּשֶׁן“ʾEreṣ Gōšen”
- Englishland o' Goshen
From the place first mentioned in Genesis 45:10 as the land set aside for the Israelites when they settled in Egypt (ultimately from Hebrew אֶרֶץ־גֹּשֶׁן (“ʾEreṣ Gōšen”)). Perhaps chosen as a minced oath to replace gosh, itself a replacement for God.
More words from Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
land o' Goshen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20o'%20Goshen
“land o' Goshen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20o'%20Goshen. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “land o' Goshen,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/land%20o'%20Goshen.
Source: land o' Goshen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.