Land o’ Goshen

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, how are you?

Super, who’s this?

This is Marilyn Madison from Burlington, Vermont.

Well, hi, Marilyn. Welcome to the program.

Hi.

Hi.

How can we help you today?

So I have an interesting expression that my beloved mother used to say. It’s landegosian, she would say. And we had a whole dictionary of sayings, and this is one of the ones that mystified us. Because, you know, she was a very happy person. And she’d say Gali-ji and all those kind of statements. But this one, she would say in the same kind of manner, like, Landagosian, you know, Landagosian.

In reference to what? What would have happened that would make her say that?

Well, you know, something that was interesting or, you know, like, as I said, it was similar to Gali-ji or Wow.

I see. Very good.

Landagosian, a biblical place I apparently understand now.

Yes, yes, exactly. I want to know, where does that statement come from? What’s the history of it? I would love to know.

Okay, we can give you that.

Yes, Goshen is a biblical place. Was your mother religious at all?

Not extremely.

Okay. You know, her mother’s family came from Prince Edward Island. You know, they were Christian, but they weren’t, you know, to the extreme level, like Methodist or whatever.

Okay, okay. But if they were at all familiar with the book of Genesis, then the expression land of Goshen would be very familiar to them. It’s in the story of Joseph when he talks about in the land of Goshen, let them dwell. He’s securing a place for his father and brothers to dwell in the best part of Egypt, the most fertile, beautiful part, which was Goshen, G-O-S-H-E-N.

Yeah. And I’m fascinated that your mother used expressions like golly gee, because land of Goshen is kind of a euphemism, like golly gee is, you know, instead of saying something much stronger. The term land itself is a euphemism for Lord.

Land sakes.

Yeah, yeah, land sakes. In fact, I can remember, Marilyn, my mother saying land and land sakes, Martha Ann.

Interesting.

So land of Goshen is kind of like my gosh, which is a euphemized version of my God.

Yes, yes, exactly. My gosh, that’s right. It’s a shortening of Goshen.

Gosh.

Gosh.

Well, or gosh is a word used instead of God. I mean, there was a time when people’s sensibilities were so delicate that some people would use the word land instead of Lord or gosh instead of God. You don’t hear that much anymore.

I see.

Because they didn’t want to be seen as blasphemers?

Right, exactly. I mean, as I said, my mother would say land rather than Lord.

Just land.

Yeah, land. My mother always used to say also Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. That was a similar era, I think, Mary, Jesus, and Joseph.

Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. Nice, nice. Yeah.

Yeah, so it’s land of Goshen, or you often see it land of Goshen, you know, with the F out of the of. But land of Goshen.

Well, great to talk with you, Marilyn.

Thanks, Marilyn.

All right. Thanks so much.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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