student asking question

What does "in heaven's name" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"What in heaven's name" is an informal expression used to express strong emotions like surprise, anger, or happiness. It can be used in questions beginning with "how," "what," "when," "who," and "why" to add emphasis. In this video, Rachel has used it to express strong surprise at Ross' appearance. The expression is similar to "what in the world" or "what in the heck." Ex: Where in heaven's name is the train? It's late again. Ex: Where in heaven's name is my cellphone?

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