God (only) knows (1)

INFORMAL
This page is about the conversational phrase God (only) knows (1)

Meaning

You can say this to emphasize that you don't know something.

For example

  • "Our flight's been delayed an hour already. God knows what time it'll actually leave."

  • "God only knows how much compensation we'll have to pay if our products end up harming people."

Note:
WARNING! Be careful when saying this as religious people might find it offensive. Safer, but less common, alternatives include "Goodness knows" and "Heaven knows".

Quick Quiz

If you say "God knows how long it'll take", you

a. know exactly how long it'll take

b. have no idea how long it'll take

c. don't care how long it takes
a) know exactly how long it'll take b) have no idea how long it'll take c) don't care how long it takes

Contributor: Matt Errey