Victorian & Edwardian · oath · interjection
strewth
STROOTH /stɹuːθ/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1883 (as “struth”)
A mild oath expressing surprise or adding emphasis. It is a clipped form of 'God's truth!'. Common in late-Victorian British slang and later strongly associated with Australia.
Where it was first recorded
J. Greenwood, Tag, Rag & Co. (1883), spelled 'struth' — earliest citation in Green's Dictionary of Slang.
Also spelled: 'struth, struth, streuth, strooth
In its own time
Mad drunk and resisting the Guard-- / 'Strewth, but I socked it them hard!
Today
Modern exampleStrewth, it's hot — the thermometer's broken the forty mark.
Fine to use today; mild and humorous, especially in British and Australian English.
From 'God's truth'; not considered offensive now.
Questions
What does strewth mean?
A mild oath expressing surprise or adding emphasis. It is a clipped form of 'God's truth!'. Common in late-Victorian British slang and later strongly associated with Australia.
When was strewth first used?
It is first recorded 1883 (as “struth”) — J. Greenwood, Tag, Rag & Co. (1883), spelled 'struth' — earliest citation in Green's Dictionary of Slang.
Can you still use strewth today?
Fine to use today; mild and humorous, especially in British and Australian English.
Sources
- ’strewth!, excl. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- struth — Merriam-Webster
- strewth — Wiktionary
- Barrack-Room Ballads (Kipling) — Project Gutenberg #2819
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above