Great Caesar's ghost
- idiom
- Archaic
:
¡Santo cielo!
- Great Caesar's ghost! You scared me half to death sneaking up like that.
Examples
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Oh my, Great Caesar's ghost! I can't believe you did that!
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Great Caesar's ghost, how on earth did you finish that puzzle so quickly?
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When the team won against all odds, the coach shouted, "Great Caesar's ghost!"
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Did you hear what happened? Great Caesar's ghost!
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Great Caesar's ghost! I can't believe we won the championship!
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When she saw the test results, she exclaimed, 'Great Caesar's ghost, I didn't expect this!'
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Great Caesar's ghost! Did you really just say that?
Synonyms
35
8.2
An exclamation that shows strong surprise or shock
8
2.6
Words people say when they are surprised to see something
5
7.5
A short phrase people say to show surprise or shock
3
6.7
A short cry people say when they are very surprised
3
9.6
To say when you are very surprised or shocked
To show surprise or doubt
A short cry showing surprise or shock
Said to show surprise or doubt
A short phrase people say to show surprise or confusion
A short phrase people say to show surprise at something amazing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines an intensifier ('great') with a famous proper name's possessive and 'ghost', so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer an emphatic exclamation invoking surprise or shock. However, the expression is a conventionalized interjection tied to a cultural/historical reference (Caesar) and functions as a fixed formula rather than a compositional description, so the exact pragmatic use is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Great Caesar's ghost may come from the dramatic idea of the old Roman leader Caesar suddenly appearing as a ghost, a powerful picture of surprise. That's why people used the phrase to show 'surprise', 'shock', or 'disbelief'.