Victorian & Edwardian · oath · interjection
gorblimey
gor-BLY-mee /ɡɔːˈblaɪ.mi/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1891
1891 (Ware dates the street use to about 1875)
A Cockney exclamation of surprise, anger or emphasis, representing a street pronunciation of 'God blind me!'. Ware called it 'a gutter phrase'.
Where it was first recorded
F. W. Carew, Autobiography of a Gipsey (1891), 'Gorblimy!' — the earliest printed citation in Green's Dictionary of Slang; Ware (1909) dates the street word to about 1875 as 'Gorblimy', and to 1870 as 'Gawblimy'
Also spelled: gorblimy, gawblimy, gawd blimey, cor blimey, gor blimey
In its own time
If y' don't give me the money, gawblimy, I'll do for ye!
Today
Modern exampleGorblimey, guv'nor, you nearly ran me over!
Usable today mostly for comic Cockney colour; it sounds dated and stagey.
A minced form of 'God blind me'; around 1910 a form of it was reportedly banished from the London stage as blasphemy (Green's). Imitating Cockney speech can come across as mocking.
Questions
What does gorblimey mean?
A Cockney exclamation of surprise, anger or emphasis, representing a street pronunciation of 'God blind me!'. Ware called it 'a gutter phrase'.
When was gorblimey first used?
It is first recorded 1891 (Ware dates the street use to about 1875) — F. W. Carew, Autobiography of a Gipsey (1891), 'Gorblimy!' — the earliest printed citation in Green's Dictionary of Slang; Ware (1909) dates the street word to about 1875 as 'Gorblimy', and to 1870 as 'Gawblimy'.
Can you still use gorblimey today?
Usable today mostly for comic Cockney colour; it sounds dated and stagey.
Sources
- Passing English of the Victorian Era (1909), s.v. Gorblimy; Gawblimy — J. Redding Ware (archive.org)
- gorblimey!, excl. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- Gorblimey — Merriam-Webster
- gorblimey — Wiktionary
- Tales of Mean Streets (Arthur Morrison) — Project Gutenberg #40569
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above