God’s speed?

Reader question:

Please explain this: “God’s speed, Mike. We wish you a quick recovery.” God’s speed?

My comments:

Mike’s recovering from an illness or injury, and the speaker wishes him good luck by saying “God’s speed”.

“God’s speed” should be speedy and fast, God being God, the all-mighty. Talking about a speedy recovery for Mike, saying “God’s speed” sounds apt and appropriate.

But the standard expression is actually “God speed” or Godspeed (one word). Grammarist.com explains:

The modern word Godspeed derives from the expression “God prosper you,” since speed, or the Middle English version spede, once meant prosperous or a successful course or goal. As a verb, it also meant to achieve a goal, as well as to hasten or hurry.

This use allowed the term Godspeed to translate roughly into modern English as “God hasten or speed you on your way towards success.” It is used to wish somebody good fortune or success, especially when starting a new endeavor or journey.

Point taken.

In our top example, “God’s speed” means God bless you, Mike. God is, in fact (or rather in the abstract), spurring you on and speeding you up. So, speedy recovery, indeed.

All right, no more ado. Let’s read a few media examples:

1. A Queensland senator has given her first speech to parliament with some adorable back-up, taking her baby son into the chamber with her.

Corinne Mulholland was elected as a Labor senator for Queensland in this year’s May federal election.

She addressed parliament for the first time last night with her baby son Augie in her arms, acknowledging his bedtime was “fast approaching”.

“I am praying Augie and I make it through this speech unscathed, so godspeed,” she said.

In her speech, she extolled the experience of parents around the country.

“Augie is here not as a symbol but as a powerful reminder of why I am here. I’m a wife and a mum from the outer suburbs of Queensland,” she said.

“Mums and dads fundamentally belong in this chamber, not in theory but in the full, lived reality of working parents – the mess, the chaos, the juggle, the struggle and, of course, the magic and the mayhem that comes with raising children.”

She said she hoped to bring some “mum energy” to the senate, recalling her experience on the campaign trail when she was still nursing Augie, then just three months old.

“It’s not unlike other working parents who juggle returning to work with their caring responsibilities each and every day, and it has taken many, many parliamentarians decades to blaze a trail for working parents,” she said.

- Senator Corinne Mulholland joined by infant son for maiden speech to parliament, 9News.com.au, July 24, 2025.

2. Democrats Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson have delivered an upset in Georgia’s off-year special election Tuesday, defeating two Republican incumbents on the state’s Public Service Commission.

The double victory marks the first time the Democratic Party has won a statewide constitutional office in Georgia since 2006 and reshapes the political landscape ahead of the pivotal 2026 midterm elections. As of 10:15 p.m., Alicia Johnson led with about 60.5% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, while Hubbard carried 60.7% of the vote.

The PSC regulates Georgia’s major utilities, including Georgia Power, and its decisions directly impact residential energy bills.

Republican incumbent Tim Echols, who has served on the commission since 2011, congratulated Johnson Tuesday night.

“Congratulations to Dr. Alicia Johnson for her well-fought victory tonight. I pray your experience on the PSC will be as meaningful as mine. Godspeed to you,” Echols posted online.

Alicia Johnson in a statement pledged to support energy policy at the PSC that benefits the public, rather than catering to the interests of powerful energy companies.

“This victory isn’t just mine, it’s ours. It’s for the single mother choosing between groceries and her power bill, the senior trying to keep the lights on, and the young voter who showed up believing that their voice matters,” Johnson said in a press release.

- Democrats flip two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission, GeorgiaRecorder.com, November 4, 2025.

3. A senior Trump administration official in the directorate of national intelligence has resigned over the war on Iran, saying that the US president was tricked into the conflict by an Israeli and pro-war “echo chamber”.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, wrote in a resignation letter shared on Tuesday.

The centre oversees all US government intelligence on threats and falls under the Directorate of National Intelligence, which is run by Tulsi Gabbard.

Kent is one of the highest-profile political appointees to resign in decades over a foreign war.

“High-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran,” Kent wrote.

“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” he wrote.

Reacting to Kent’s resignation on Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he didn't know Kent very well and thought he was a “nice guy” but “weak on security”.

“But when I read his statement, I realised that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that ‘Iran was not a threat’. Iran was a threat – every country realised what a threat Iran was, the question was whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

…

Kent’s resignation was praised on social media by high-profile members of Trump’s Maga movement who have opposed the war.

Shawn Ryan, a former Navy Seal and podcaster who backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election, welcomed the resignation.

“Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It’s unfortunate it’s come down to this. God speed [Joe Kent], I hope this wakes some people up,” Ryan wrote on X.

Kent was a diehard Trump supporter who backed protesters arrested during the 6 January 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.

- US counterterror chief says in resignation letter Israel deceived Trump into attacking Iran, SudanIndependent.com, March 17, 2026.

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣）