#1169 Gee Whiz

I was looking something up in the dictionary the other day, and I happened to stop at the spelled out version of the letter G: G-e-e-.
And there was a ton of different definitions. I was amazed. I’m not sure other letters in the alphabet can do as well. H and K for instance, only a couple apiece. The letter H, and H as in, “What the H?” Or “Kay” as in the letter K and “Kay” as in a truncated version of the word Okay. ‘Kay?
But Gee, Gee is a veritable goldmine of definitions. You have G as in Gravity. The Space station is under zero gee. And G as in a euphemistic substitute for Jesus. As in “Oh Gee!” or the great combo “Gee Whiz.” When I learned that Gee was a substitute for taking Jesus’ name in vain, the phrase “Gee whiz” sounded even weirder.
Jesus Whiz? Sounds like he’s a mathlete of something.
There’s also an archaic and recently revised form of Gee. Used to say it fits or goes with. “That gees with what I figured Falletti, now go tell the G-Man we’re giving up.”
There’s also Gee as in a thousand dollars. “Yeah, he’s dumping a cool gee into the program.”
Equestrians among you will recognize Gee as a command you give to your animal. Non-equestrians may like to know that Gee is a command to horses or oxen to tell them to go right. Haw tells them to go left. Supposedly, “gee haw” evolved into the characteristic cowboy shout “YeeHaw!”
But if I was a cowboy riding a skittish horse I’m pretty sure shouting out geehaw loudly and suddenly would confuse said animal. Right Left! Right Left!
It’d be liable to buck and bolt and stuff.
Maybe that’s why yeehaw evolved into yahoo.
I can also see, I suppose, gee-haw evolving into Hee Haw for funny farm people. But what I don’t get is it suddenly getting a hard G and becoming a synonym for knickknack. GeeGaw.
And now, I don’t know whether I mean Right Willikers, Jesus Willikers or a thousand Willikers but all I can say is, “Gee Willikers English is fun.”
America, ya gotta love it.