dear me

English

An expression of surprise, dismay, or indulgent disapproval.
- 1915, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Valley of Fear
  "Dear me, Mr. Holmes. Dear me!" said this singular epistle. There was neither superscription nor signature. I laughed at the quaint message; but Holmes showed unwonted seriousness.
- 1922, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Jacob's Room:
  "Dear me," said Mrs. Flanders, when she read in the Scarborough and Harrogate Courier that the Rev. Andrew Floyd, etc., etc., had been made Principal of Maresfield House, "that must be our Mr. Floyd."

(expression of surprise): For semantic relationships of this sense, see wow in the Thesaurus.
(expression of dismay): For semantic relationships of this sense, see dammit in the Thesaurus.
(expression of disapproval): For semantic relationships of this sense, see tut tut in the Thesaurus.

good heavens — see good heavens

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