What does "golly" mean?

Abbreviation of golliwog:.; A type of black rag doll.

What is a synonym for "golly"?

Common synonyms include: blimey, blimey, bloody hell, bloody nora, blow me tight, blow me up.

//ˈɡɒli// intj, noun, verb, slang

intj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Noun

1
Abbreviation of golliwog:.; A type of black rag doll.
"1985, New Society, Volumes 71-72, page 4, There are pictures of the original “gollywogg” (thus spelt) from Florence Upton′s 19th century children′s books; there are examples of anti-semitic Edwardian gollies with huge noses, and all sorts of other curiosities."
2
A galosh. Ireland, UK
3
Chewing gum. Australian, slang
4
Abbreviation of golliwog:.; Any dark-skinned person. ethnic, offensive, slur
"“Bloody gollies!” muttered David Bromhead, provoked by the assault into bitter xenophobia."
5
Saliva or phlegm. Australian, slang
"hack up a golly"

Verb

1
To spit; to force up phlegm from one's throat. Australia
"When he saw what was happening he threw down his bag, gollied up some phlegm, and spat into the sand."

Intj

1
A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm. euphemistic
"Golly! That was a long trip to California."

"By golly, look at the time, I must be on my way."

Etymology 1

Euphemism for God, dating from the 18th century. Possibly a compaction of “God′s body”.

Etymology 2

From golliwog.

Etymology 3

Nonstandard diminutive of galosh.

Etymology 4

Possibly from Goliath.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.