What does by the great horn spoon mean?

Answer 1

It's a very old-fashioned American oath. A horn spoon is just a spoon made out of horn, like cow's horn - people used to carve their own spoons back before mass industry made cheap metal eating utensils. There have been hints that the saying originally referred to the Big Dipper, and was used by sailors.

The first record of this saying was in a song from 1842 called "French Claim" -
The more he thought on't it the madder he grew,
Until he vowed by the great horn spoon,
Unless they did the thing that was right,
He'd give them a licking, and that pretty soon. It doesn't really mean anything other than "I swear" - but you know how Americans love using five or six words when one will do just fine!

Answer 2

Oh, dude, "by the great horn spoon" is just a quirky way of saying "by the great horn of a spoon." It's like saying "by golly" or "by Jove." It's just an old-timey expression that adds some flair to your language, ya know? So, like, if someone says, "By the great horn spoon, that's a huge sandwich!" they're just being extra dramatic about it.

Answer 3

It's a very old-fashioned American oath. A horn spoon is just a spoon made out of horn, like cow's horn - people used to carve their own spoons back before mass industry made cheap metal eating utensils. There have been hints that the saying originally referred to the Big Dipper, and was used by sailors.

The first record of this saying was in a song from 1842 called "French Claim" -
The more he thought on't it the madder he grew,
Until he vowed by the great horn spoon,
Unless they did the thing that was right,
He'd give them a licking, and that pretty soon. It doesn't really mean anything other than "I swear" - but you know how Americans love using five or six words when one will do just fine!