Oh My Gods: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''"Shades of '''[[The Devil|Satan]]'''!"''|'''[[Superman]]''' ''Lois Lane'', "The Devil's Bride" [http://www.superdickery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=986:shades-of-satan&catid=29:confounding-comic-covers-index&Itemid=32\]}}

 

{{quote|''"By Me!"''|'''Jupiter''', ''The 12 Labors of [[Asterix]]''}}

 

 

Depending on how developed the world is, it is also quite common to invoke actual gods by name, such as the Gauls in ''[[Asterix]]'' saying "By Toutatis!" (well, he ''was'' an actual Gaul god). Another common variation used by [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions|future civilizations]] is to invoke science or scientists instead. Occasionally an [[Alternate History]] with a non-monotheistic major religion will use this to demonstrate how different that world is. Sometimes a [[Physical God]] will reference ''themselves'' in this manner, with "By me!" "[[Zero Punctuation|Jesus H. Me!]]" or similar.

Pretty much [[Truth in Television]]: although "Oh My Gods" isn't realistic, just plain "Gods!" does occur in Greek and Roman literature as an exclamation, although admittedly the emphasis is a little different (the speaker will usually address the gods with an appeal for help or an incredulous "Do you see this?"), and phrases like "[[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe|ye gods]]" (and its minced-oath version "egad") or "by the gods" are equally common. (Also common was the singular "God", which might mean either the chief god of the pantheon, or whatever god the speaker happened to be particularly devoted to.) Even more vulgar constructions have been found as well; a popular epithet found carved into walls by Roman hooligans is "By Juno's twat!" It's not uncommon in modern times, either; depending on what circles you travel in, such as pagan, polytheist, atheist, fan, or geek, "Oh my God!" may well be a rare expression.

 

 

See also: [[Unusual Euphemism]], [[Curse of the Ancients]], [[Hold Your Hippogriffs]], [[Pardon My Klingon]]. For non-human examples and belief systems, see [[Thank the Maker]].

** And Storm's "Goddess!"

* In ''[[Judge Dredd]]'', characters swear by "Grudd", including the variant "Maureen, mother of Grudd!"

* The [[Marvel Universe|Inhumans]] used to swear by evolution. This was phased out because a) it sounds kind of stupid and b) the culture was based around a [[You Fail Biology Forever|very poor]] definition of evolution anyway.

* Brazilian comic ''[[Holy Avenger]]'' is based on the [[Tabletop RPG]] ''Tormenta'', hence, different characters worship different gods and have different exclamations for each one. This was hilariously [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] at one point.

* In an issue of ''[[Supergirl]]'', one of Darkseid's minions got out "Darkseid's testi--" before being [[Curse Cut Short|shushed]].

* [[Shazam|Billy Batson]] may have yelled the ''initials'' of gods, but his [[Catch Phrase]] was "Holy Moly", which [[Golden Age Of Comic Books|back then]] was a way for Catholics to say "Holy [[The Bible|Mary, Mother of God!]]" ([[Word of God]] says Billy's Catholic) without [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|offending the Big Guy Upstairs]].

* In a Superman/[[Silver Surfer]] [[Crossover]], Silver Surfer shouted "By the Gods of Zenn-La!"

 

 

** ''[[Embers]]'' has most of the above, plus the phrase "to Koh's lair in a handbasket".

* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' fanfic has a tendency to use the name of Hyne (the semi-mythical ancestor of sorceresses in the setting) in this way, though the game's canon averts this trope, at one point having Squall shout "GOD!"

** [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in [[Dragon Ball]] fics, where there really ''IS'' someone named Kami, [[Pals with Jesus|who serves as the guardian of the earth]].

*** Speaking of [[Dragon Ball]] and [[Dragonball Z]], King Yemma and the Kai's names also quite popularly used in vain.

* [[Ursula K. Le Guin|Ursula K. Le Guin's]] ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' takes a brief divergence to discuss a small cult started around an insane Seer called Meshe, which excuses various characters to spout "Meshe's milk!" or "[[Gag Boobs|By the tits of Meshe!]]" whenever surprised or confounded. Both of which remind us that Meshe, although referred to as "he", is really a hermaphrodite like everyone else on the planet (except Genly Ai, who comes from Earth).

* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]''

** [[Red Sonja]] would frequently swear "By Ishtar and Mitra!"

** In the ''Conan the Adventurer'' series, Snagg would sometimes swear "By Wodan's beard!"

** Alternatively, the use of "Merlin" instead of "God" may more or less be censorship by the characters, as they seem to at least celebrate Christian holidays. Draco Malfoy, then, may just be using a harsher phrase than the others.

* J.R. Ward's series, the [[Black Dagger Brotherhood]], invokes this trope like nobody's business. The titular brotherhood, along with the rest of their vampiric race, swear by their deity (who is presumably responsible for all of creation, in their beliefs), a female figire known as the Scribe Virgin, and by the afterlife which they refer to as The Fade, by employing variations like, "by the Virgin!" "Sweet Virgin in the Fade..." etc.

* In [[China Mieville]]'s [[Bas-Lag Cycle|Bas-Lag]] novels, people from the city-state of New Crobuzon mostly all swear to the same deity, Jabber, using the stock phrases like "By Jabber..." and occasionally mixing in the lowercase "god" for flavor.

* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'' novels, characters exclaim "Great space!", "Galaxy!", or "He went space knows where." "Oh my space" is sadly absent.

* ''[[Thieves' World]]'' series got their share of swearing, including mentions of some deity's armpits and whatnot.

* Elaine Cunningham once wrote "One of my personal goals with the ''[[Forgotten Realms|Waterdeep]]'' novel is come up with innovative curses that don't sound silly or stilted." in a discussion of language flavors supporting a setting or shattering [[Suspension of Disbelief]].

* They also seem to like using "Crows!" or "Crowsbegotten", given that crows are a symbol of battle.

* [[Elric of Melnibone]] once exclaimed, "Gods!" and then added quickly, "You'll pardon me, my lords," because he was having a conversation with several gods at the time.

** Naturally. [[Our Elves Are Better|Minbari Profanity Is Better]].

** Among ''Babylon 5'' fans, "Great Maker" is a nickname for [[J. Michael Straczynski]].

* Liz Lemon of ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'' likes "By the hammer of Thor!"

** That might be a reference to ''[[The Mighty Thor]]'', given her notorious nerdiness.

** In later seasons, Willow will swear by the Goddess, or by Hecate.

** And Xander let out at least one "Merciful [[Greek Mythology|Zeus]]!" and one "Sweet fancy [[The Bible|Moses]]!".

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icTrzUuWlHI This sketch] from ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'' has several characters making frequent and creatively diverse invocations of "Vectron", until one of them awkwardly asks what they're talking about, since he took a day off sick the previous week and they were all doing it when he got back...

* Earl from ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'' would often shout out, "Holy Moses!" While Joy made her [[Catch Phrase]], "Oh Snap!"

* Creon actually says "Be Zeus my witness" at one point in ''[[Antigone]]'', making this [[Older Than Feudalism]].

* Hercules, Castor, and Pollux were such common objects of swearing that in the plays of [[Plautus]] and Terence (probably following colloquial usage) invocations of them appear (throughout dialogue) in the semi-degenerated forms "mehercle", "edepol", and "ecastor". "By Jupiter" is a more serious oath, but not at all uncommon.

* Lampshaded in the ancient Greek ''[[The Clouds|Clouds]]'' by [[Aristophanes]]. A man who has been put into financial difficulty by horseracing suddenly breaks his introspection to ask his son if he loves him. "Yes, by Dionysus!" "Not the god of horses!"

 

** Through she's a Daedra and not a god, characters in Oblivion will frequently say "For the love of Azura!" It's rather strange actually considering Cyrodiil does not look kindly on Daedra worship but nearly every NPC will say it.

*** [[Most Annoying Sound|By Azura, by Azura, by Azura]], it's the Grand Champion! I can't believe it's you! [[Captain Obvious|Standing here, next to me!]]

* At one point in ''[[Mother 3]]'', Fassad exclaims "Oh my pork!"

* By Tyr's Right Buttock, the ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' series has a lot of these.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]: The Sacred Stones'' has a few overwhelmed characters swearing "By the stones."

** Characters in ''Rekka no Ken'' sometimes swore to Father Earth and Mother Sky.

* Human (and some dwarven) characters in the ''[[Warcraft]]'' universe will often spout things such as "By the Light!" or simply "Light!", mirroring their [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]] faith.

** A favorite phrase of the Dwarves is "By Muradin's beard!" Muradin Bronzebeard is a dwarven hero who was believed to be dead after a particularly heroic mission. In ''[[World of Warcraft]],'' Muradin himself even invokes this by exclaiming "By Me own beard!"

== Web Comics ==

* ''Ye Gods!'' is the title of a [[Furry Webcomic]] that seems very intent on running [[Rule of Funny]] and a little [[Rule of Cool]]

* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''

** Often done with Azurites, whose civilization is based on East Asia, saying, "Twelve Gods damn you!"

** Religion is in general skirted around, but Christianity certainly exists (probably also Judaism), so possibly it co-exists with pre-Christian beliefs. Religion is going to be severely dampened in a setting where society is dominated by mad scientists performing technological miracles and exuding improbable amounts of charisma despite their excesses. Still, there ARE seven popes apparently...

** At least once a character (Baron Wulfenbach) uses "Gotterdammerung" in a manner similar to "God damn it". In German "Götterdämmerung" refers to the "Twilight of the Gods", i.e. Ragnarok from Norse myth (usually via Wagner), and isn't usually used as a swear word at all. Appropriating it as an expletive ''could'' pretty definitely be considered blasphemous to people believing in whatever gods are being referred to, though given [[Emperor Scientist|who uses it]] that wouldn't be altogether a surprise.

** The (ironically named) Moloch von Zinzer, an ex-soldier, also exclaims "Daughter of thunder" in the first chapter, when he picks up the device that killed his brother.

** An airship sailor once used "what in the freefalling hell..."