ermahgerd

ermahgerd

English

Etymology

A punning reference to the meme during Hurricane Irma in Florida.

From a humorously altered pronunciation of oh my God. Popularized by an image macro meme in 2012, which features the text "ermahgerd, Gersberms" overlaid on a photo of a teenage girl making a silly face and holding several Goosebumps books. The girl in the photo has a visible orthodontic retainer. The eye dialect spelling is intended to mimic the speech of a wearer of this device.[1][2][3]

Interjection

ermahgerd

1. (slang, humorous or sarcastic) Alternative form of oh my God.
   • 2012, "Livin' A Teenage Dream", X-Press Magazine, Issue 1341, 24 October 2012, page 11:

     PLUS (please brace yourselves, fangirls) he's coming to play at the Perth Arena in a few months – ermahgerd.

   • 2012, Travis Homenuk, "Let's all run for mayor", The Sheaf (University of Saskatchewan), Volume 104, Issue 8, 25 October 2012, page 16:

     Here's a scary thought: I'm a Canadian citizen over 18 years of age and I have lived in Saskatoon for more than three months and in Saskatchewan for more than six months. What does this mean? I can run for mayor. Ermahgerd!

   • 2013, Robert Epstein, "Being Modern: Macarons", The Independent, 3 March 2013:

     Is that an Alber Elbaz pink-bubblegum macaron you're eating? Ermahgerd! You are so last year.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:ermahgerd.

References

1. "The Erkernermerst", The Economist, 29 November 2012
2. Nicole Cammorata, Words You Should Know 2013: The 201 Words from Science, Politics, Technology and Pop Culture That Will Change Your Life This Year, F+W Media (2013), →ISBN, page 67
3. Darryn King, "Ermahgerddon: The Untold Story of the Ermahgerd Girl", Vanity Fair, 15 October 2015