student asking question

What does “scare the bejesus out of someone” mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Bejesus" is a word that stands for jesus, and "scare the bejesus out of someone" is an idiom that expresses extreme surprise or fright. It has the same meaning as "scare the hell out of someone". Both are phrases that are usually used between close friends. It would be inappropriate to use this phrase to an acquaintance or an elderly. Ex: This rat is so huge that it scared the bejesus out of me.

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