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“Heaven knows” is an English idiom used to mean “no one knows” or “really”. It can be used to reinforce an argument or claim that nobody knows anything. The phrase is often used in movies and music, and sometimes the word “God” is used instead of “heaven”.
The phrase “heaven know” is an English idiom meaning “no one knows” or “really”. People often say this in response to questions or to reinforce an argument. Many musicians have borrowed the idiom as a title for an album and a song.
Perhaps the most common use of this idiom is to claim that nobody knows anything. For example, in the animated film “Finding Nemo,” the title character says to her new friend Dory, “Heaven knows what you’re saying!” In other words, Nemo didn’t understand her and didn’t believe anyone else would be able to.
The expression often extends slightly into the saying “only heaven knows.” This version emphasizes the thought that no one understands except God. It can be a good answer to questions like “when is this meeting going to end?” or “where is it?”
People use this idiom to insist that a statement is true. In the 1999 film “Wild Wild West,” villain Dr. Arliss Loveless declares, “We may have lost the war, but heaven knows we haven’t lost our sense of humor.” A character in the classic 1950s move “All About Eve” vengefully claims, “Heaven knows there was one coming.” Both speakers use the saying to reinforce the truth of what they say. A less colorful substitute would be the word “really”.
The expression can also be used to say that something is true, even if no one else knows it. A frequent form is the protest: “Heaven knows I tried.” In other words, the speaker knows that his opinion of him may be unpopular or unproven, but believes that his statement is still true. Nineteenth-century author Charles Dickens writes in Great Expectations: “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are the rain upon the blinding dust of the earth, which covers our hard hearts.”
Sometimes the word “God” is used instead of “heaven” in this idiom. “God knows” and “heaven knows” are slightly different ways of expressing exactly the same thought. Although some speakers literally mean God knows, some use the phrase to mean that no one else knows. Still others might say this expression sarcastically, implying that God does not exist and that no one understands him at all.
Many artists have borrowed this idiom for songs, albums and movies. American blues singer Taylor Hicks recorded a single with that title in 2007. In 1957, Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr starred as a Marine and a nun in a World War II movie called Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison ”.
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