as I live and breathe



as I live and breathe

Wow! An expression of surprise or amazement. As I live and breathe! I haven't seen you in years!
See also: and, breathe, live

as I live and breathe

For sure, definitely, as in As I live and breathe, I've never seen a more beautiful view. This expression is generally used to emphasize the truth of a statement and has been so used since the mid-1600s, although sometimes it was put simply as as I live. However, the complete phrase was also used early on, as in Arthur Murphy's 1756 play The Apprentice (2:1): "As I live and breathe, we shall both be taken, for heaven's sake let us make our escape."
See also: and, breathe, live

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Michelangelomee-KE-lahn-je-loItalian
ValentÍNbah-len-TEEN (Spanish)Spanish, Slovak
Efrosynief-ro-SEE-neeGreek
Huda-Arabic
Santiagosahn-TYAH-go (Spanish)Spanish, Portuguese
MillardMIL-ərdEnglish