crikey

• crickey, cricky (both less common)

Euphemistic substitute for Christ, perhaps a corruption of Christ King. Compare criminy, cripes, crivvens. Attested from the 19th century.

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɑɪki/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪki

crikey

1. (UK, Ireland, Australia, Commonwealth) An exclamation of astonishment.

   Crikey, mate, that ain't a knife, this is a knife!

   • 2023 February 16, Erielle Sudario, “Australia gets its own online aesthetic with 'crikeycore'”, in We Got This Covered‎^[1], archived from the original on 23 November 2023:

     The label is based on the word “crikey” the famous catchphrase of Steve Irwin, and “core,” meaning the essential part of anything, according to dictionary.com.

• See Thesaurus:wow

• “crikey, int.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, November 2010.

• Rickey, rickey, yicker