1. Home
2. Idioms
3. so help me

so help me

---

---

so help me(, God)

I so pledge and vow in God's name. I will do it. I really will, so help me, God!

See also: help

so help me (God)

this is the truth That was one of the most frightening sights of my life, so help me. You look at me when I'm talking to you or, so help me God, I'll hit you.

Usage notes: used for very strong emphasis, as in the examples

See also: help

so help me

Also, so help me God. I swear that what I am saying is true, as in So help me, I haven't enough cash to pay for the tickets, or I wasn't there, so help me God . This idiom became a formula for swearing a formal oath and is still so used in courts of law for swearing in a witness ( I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God ). It was first recorded in 1508 as "So help me, our Lord."

See also: help