Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Two words that hold Charlie Brown's whole life: not rage, not despair, just the weary exhale of someone who expects things to go wrong and is rarely disappointed. Schulz kept it mild enough for a family newspaper, and the mildness is the joke. It left the strip long ago as a general English exclamation, and it still tells you instantly whose bad day it is.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for PeanutsShow the scene
'Good grief' is Charlie Brown's catchphrase rather than a line from one strip: it recurs for decades across Peanuts as his reaction to whatever has just gone wrong. In the strip of 9 March 1962, for example, Lucy rants that art must be unconfined and that you cannot say 'Today we will produce a work of art', after Charlie Brown has only mentioned Children's Art Month, and he answers 'Oh, good grief!'. There is no single defining scene for the phrase, and its first appearance was not confirmed.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Charlie BrownCharacter descriptionReference checked
- Wikiquote: PeanutsCharlie Brown section, strip dated 9 Mar 62; Common phrases listReference checked
Context reviewed
