Phrase guide

I'll be blowed

intj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌaɪl biː ˈbləʊd/
  • General-American: /ˌaɪl bi ˈbloʊd/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊd

1

intj

Meaning 1

Used to express amazement and surprise.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, dated, euphemistic, informal

Examples

  • Well, I’ll be blowed if it isn’t my old school friend, John!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blow me, blow me down, blow me over, blow me pink, blow me tight, crikey, gosh, I'm blowed, adzooks, ay, caramba, mirabile dictu, chihuahua, begorra, bleeding heck, bleeding Nora, bless my heart, bless my soul, bless us, blige, blimey, bloody hell, bloody Nora, blow me backwards, blow me up, blow my buttons, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, by all that is holy, by Allah, by cracky, by George, by God, by golly, by gosh, by gum, by gummy, by jingo, by Jove, by juckies, by Jupiter, by thunder, by the living jingo, byrlady, Christ, Christ alive, Christ almighty, Christ on a bike, Christ on a cracker, Christ on a raft, Christ on a stick, Christ on a crutch, coo, cor, cor blimey, cor lummy, cowabunga, criminy, cripes, crivvens, chuffing hell, dear God, dear me, dearie me, deary me, dear Lord, diggety, eep, egad, egads, ermahgerd, fancy that, flaming Nora, flipping heck, flipping Nora, fuark, fuck me, fucking hell, fucking Nora, gad so, Gadsbodikins, gadsbud, gadzooks, gaw, gee, gee whiz, gee willikers, geeminy, geez, geez Louise, geshmak, get out of town, glory be, God Almighty, God in heaven, God's teeth, good golly, golly, golly gee willikers, golly gosh, good God, good gracious, good gravy, good grief, good heavens, good Lord, goodness, goodness gracious, goodness gracious me, goodness me, googly-moogly, gorblimey, Gordon Bennett, gosh all hemlock, gracious, gramercy, great balls of fire, great Caesar, great Caesar's ghost, great googly moogly, great Scott, gyatt, hallo, hello, heavens, heavens above, heavens to Betsy, heavens to Murgatroyd, hell's bells, hey, heyday, hold up, holy buckets, holy cannoli, holy cow, holy crap, holy crap on a cracker, holy cricket, holy crickets, holy crud, holy dignity, holy doodle, holy fuck, holy fuck knuckles, holy fudge, holy guacamole, holy Hannah, holy hell, holy kamoley, holy kamoly, holy macaroni, holy mackerel, holy magnum, holy moley, holy moly, holy man, holy Moses, Holy Mother, Holy Mother of God, holy ravioli, holy shit, holy stromboli, holy smoke, holy Toledo, hooly dooly, hot damn, I'll be, I'll be a dirty bird!, I'll be a monkey's uncle, I'll be a son of a bitch, I'll be a son of a gun, I'll be blowed, I'll be bound, I'll be buggered, I'll be damned, I'll be danged, I'll be darned, I'll be dashed, I'll be dipped, I'll be dipped in shit, I'll be hanged, I'll be hornswoggled, I'll be jiggered, I'll be shot, imagine that, I say, Janey Mack, Jaysus, Jeebus, jeepers, jeepers creepers, jeez, jeez Louise, jeezy peeps, jeezy-peezy, Jerusalem crickets, Jesum Crow, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus fuck, Jesus H. Christ, Mary and Joseph, Jesus Murphy, Jiminy Cricket, jings, jinkies, Judas Priest, jumping Jehoshaphat, jumping Jesus, Jupiter, knock me down with a feather, knock me over with a feather, land sakes, lauks, lawks, lawks a-mercy, lawl, leapin' lizards, Lord, Lord be praised, Lord love a duck, lordy, mama mia, mamma mia, man alive, mercy sakes, Mother of God, mother of Pearl, my, my conscience, my giddy aunt, my heavens, my sainted aunt, my sainted uncle, my God, my goodness, my gosh, my Lord, my my, my word, no way, O gemini, ods bodikin, odsfish, odzookens, oh, oh em gee, ohmigod, oh my, oh my days, oh my God, oh my Goddess, oh my goodness, oh my goodness gracious, oh my gosh, oh my hell, oh my heck, oh my fuck, oh my life, oh my Lord, oh my stars, oh my word, oi, OMG, omigod, omigosh, peas and rice, please, praise the Lord, rah, ruddy hell, ruddy Nora, sacré bleu, sakes alive, 'sblood, 'sdeath, shart, 'sheart, sheesh, shit fire and save matches, shitting Nora, shiver my timbers, shut my mouth, shut the front door, slap my ass and call me Judy, slap my ass and call me Sally, snakes alive, sodding hell, son of a gun, stone me, stone the crows, strewth, strike me pink, 'struth, suffering centipedes, suffering Moses, suffering Sappho, suffering succotash, sweet Grandma on stilts, sweet Jesus, sweet Mary, sweet mother of God, sweet mother of Jesus, waow, well, I never, what, what do you know, whoa, whoah, wow, wowee, wowzers, ye gods, yikes, yikes bikes, you don't say, yowzah, zoiks, zoinks, ZOMG, ZOMFG, zooterkins, zound, zounds, zowie

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Probably a hyperbole expressing that the speaker is so surprised it is as if they have been blown over by a gust of wind: compare blow me down and blow me over, and also knock someone over with a feather, which have the same sense. Used as a euphemism for I'll be damned; compare also blasted.