to yell bejesus
- phrasal verb
- Irish
- She yelled bejesus when she saw the spider!
Examples
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We all yelled bejesus when the fire alarm blared in the middle of the night.
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She yelled bejesus the moment the lights went out unexpectedly.
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I nearly yelled bejesus when the cat jumped on my lap.
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Did he really yell bejesus at the concert?
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I nearly yelled bejesus when the cat jumped on my lap.
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We all yelled bejesus when the fire alarm blared in the middle of the night.
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She yelled bejesus the moment the lights went out unexpectedly.
Synonyms
To make a loud high cry because of fear or pain
To shout loudly because you feel strong pain, anger or excitement
Say something suddenly and loudly because you feel surprised or excited
To make a loud high sound often because of fear, pain or excitement
Say something loudly to show strong feeling or get attention
To say something suddenly and loudly because of surprise or strong feeling
To make a loud sudden cry because you are scared, hurt, or surprised
To say 'bejeebus' loudly when you are surprised or annoyed
Antonyms
How Loud
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to exclaim loudly in surprise or shock' is directly derived from combining 'yell' (to utter a loud cry) with 'bejesus' (an interjection expressing astonishment). This verb+interjection composition is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the meaning despite the informal/regional flavour.
Etymology
Yell bejesus comes from people loudly saying bejesus, a softer form of 'by Jesus', when they were shocked or frightened. So, to yell bejesus means 'to shout loudly in surprise'.