Author Archives: Jordan Hanes

“Jiminy Crickets!”

Nationality: American
Age: 60
Occupation: Writer
Language: English

Context

My mother often used the phrase “Jiminy Crickets!” as a response to something that shocked or surprised her. I mean she even does it to this day. “Jiminy Crickets!” is a reference to the character Jiminy Cricket from Disney’s Pinocchio (1940). Here, the name is a euphemism for “Jesus Christ,” another exclamation with more socially risky language given attitudes around using the Lord’s name “in vain.” This makes the phrase a minced oath: a watered-down substitute for another phrase the conveys the same sentiment.

Analysis

Like many minced oaths, this phrase is meant to avoid using words considered taboo by certain communities while still expressing the same meaning. This phrase is a prime example of popular culture influencing folk vernacular. Apparently, John Bartlett in his 1848 book Dictionary of Americanisms makes note of “by Jiminy,” another exclamation that is itself a corruption of the Greek gemini twins. It seems that the name Jiminy has come completely full circle within American vernacular. It started as folk speech before becoming subsumed by a popular character, only to resurrect itself as a minced oath in the present day. From mythology, to everyday speech, to pop culture icon, to minced oath. The cyclical journey of “Jiminy Crickets” tells us a lot about how our culture influences folk language and vice versa.

“Christ on a Cracker!”

Nationality: American
Age: 60
Occupation: Writer
Language: English

Context

Over the summer, I had said this phrase in front of a friend on a long walk back home. Given that my friend had never heard it before, I thought I had come up with it! I couldn’t remember where I had first heard it. Cut to a conversation with my mother about a month later and, lo and behold, I am not as original as I thought. My mother had heard it before, but where, she couldn’t say. We’ve certainly heard it said before, either to or around us. Otherwise, how could we have known it?

“Christ on a cracker” is an expletive phrase, used to express frustration or shock. It also serves as a minced oath, a watered-down form of more tabooistic wording, in this case a form of “Christ” or “Jesus Christ.”

Analysis

Unlike other minced oaths, which use euphemism to mask taboo words, this one doesn’t fully embrace euphemism to hide the societal taboo, in this case taking the Abrahamic God’s name in vain. “Christ” leads the phrase front and center, perhaps even “Jesus Christ” if you feel so compelled. Rather, it relies on humorous alliteration to compensate for the taboo it’s trying to avoid. The use of “cracker” brings to mind communion bread, so there’s another possible religious connection for the exact wording.

There’s also an element of absurdism in this phrase. It immediately puts an image of the Messiah on a piece of cooked grain in your mind. Is this another tactic the phrase employs to distract from the taboo language it uses, or is it meant to further violate social conventions?

“When it Hits the Fan”

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Language: English

Context

When thinking of possible folk speech I could include in the archive, I asked my roommates what euphemistic phrases they had heard growing up. One chimed in with “when it hits the fan,” a less offensive version of “when shit hits the fan” that his parents would use around the house growing up. It conveys the same meaning, describing a situation that has suddenly turned disastrous, but employs more polite words. Personally, I’d only ever heard, or used, the original, vulgar version, and I couldn’t find any sources on others who might’ve used this phrase.

Analysis

I think this is a prime example of when we rewrite common, colloquial phrases for a younger audience. Given that I haven’t been able to find many instances of the phrase elsewhere, it seems likely that my roommates parents and the people around him deliberately censored the phrase while he was growing up. I’d argue that de-vulgarized phrases like “when it hits the fan” allows younger members of society to participate in colloquial exchange that they would otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Despite the arbitrariness of words being considered polite or impolite, phrases like this allow children to stretch their linguistic muscles and engage in what would otherwise be too mature for them.

“What the Freak?”

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Language: English

Context

The informant claims that they were the original source for this saying, and truth-be-told I haven’t heard it anywhere else. Around the time of origination, the word “freak” was making its rounds on the internet. In particular, the song “Nasty” by Tinashe had gone viral, and the lyric “is somebody gonna match my freak?” had become a popular TikTok audio. This led to the word’s more frequent usage, and since it’s aurally similar to the words “frick” or “fuck”  in the phrase “what the frick” or “what the fuck,” that’s probably how it snuck itself into the informant’s vocabulary. 

“What the freak?” is most often used immediately after a person says something tabooistic or off-color. It is mostly synonymous with “who said that?”, the implication being that someone other than the speaker had said something weird, and the speaker is reacting to them. “What the freak” is almost certainly euphemistic in nature, and could be an example of a minced oath, a phrase watered down from a more vulgar starting point (in this case, “what the fuck”).

While the phrase has been recorded online, this particular use of “what the freak” that highlights the absurdity of a statement seems to originate from my friend group.

Analysis

This is definitely not a widespread phrase. Only the informant, our housemates, and even myself are the only ones I’ve heard use it, or at least this specific use-case. But I don’t think it diminishes its value as a piece of spoken folklore circled amongst a close, tight-knit group. It speaks to a level of comfort we all share as friends and roommates, and highlights the safe, weird space we’ve created together. When someone says “what the freak,” it immediately sparks laughter and joy in our living room. I think that speaks to the power of folk speech as a means of creating a community identity.