Our terminal manager of many years had been to sea and worked around dockworkers all his life. Yet the strongest words out of his mouth were "Gee, Willikers!" Of course, my own peripheral brush with longshoremen did not teach me any new words. Many of these expressions can be both regional and generational. The above gent was born in 1904. I had another colleague born circa 1920 - her all-purpose word was "Jeepers!" perhaps after a song of the era "Jeepers Creepers." And with another younger colleague from down east, her phrase was "Get outa town!" Branch Rickey was the G.M. of the Brooklyn Dodgers circa 1947 and was a God fearing man. His outburst was "Judas Priest!" but he knew much more colorful language as he hurled it at Jackie Robinson to test his composure and ability to withstand what he would hear when he became the first African-American to break into Major League Baseball. The Amos and Andy show was on radio in 1930s where I first heard the Kingfish say "Holy Mackerel, Andy." And then there came the Woodstock generation with their cry of "FAR OUT!" which always confounded me. I had a few more arrows in my quiver but they wouldn't pass the censor.
tjs
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