Where did the phrase, “Good grief!” come from?
What is the origin of the phrase Good Grief, specifically how can grief be good? Thanks for your help! It’s probably a minced oath – that is, a softened form of another exclamation that might be deemed blasphemous. In this case, the other exclamation is “Good God!” Grieving is often good psychologically, better than suppressing grief after a loss, but the only relevant feature of the word “grief” for this phrase is its initial G. from http://www.phrases.org.uk/…/1035.html popularized by the Peanuts character Charlie Brown but not invented by him. Many cartoon characters have taglines – Popeye the sailor’s ‘I am what I am, etc.’ Robin’s endless ‘Holy XXX, Batman!’ I could go on but I have to get back to work.
