| 释义 |
tarnation
tar·na·tion T0048900 (tär-nā′shən) New England & Southern US n. The act of damning or the condition of being damned.interj. Used to express anger or annoyance.
[Alteration (influenced by tarnal) of darnation.]Word History: The history of the noun and interjection tarnation illustrates a phenomenon called taboo deformation, by which words that can be considered offensive or impolite under some circumstances are made more acceptable or softer-sounding by altering one or more sounds that make up the words. Tarnation appears to be a variant of darnation, itself a taboo deformation of damnation, in the same way that darn is an alteration of damn. Tarnation, however, seems to have been influenced by tarnal!, another mild oath that is derived from the adjective eternal—as used in eternal damnation! for instance. The taboo deformations darn, darnation, and tarnation have been used in New England since the late 1700s.tarnation (tɑːˈneɪʃən) n a euphemism for damnationtar•na•tion (tɑrˈneɪ ʃən)
interj., n. damnation; hell (used as a euphemism). [1775–85;b. 'tarnal, dial. form of eternal, and damnation] Translationstarnation
in tarnation?Used as an intensifier after a question word (who, what, where, when, why, and how) to express extreme confusion, surprise, or aggravation. Primarily heard in US. And just how in tarnation am I supposed to have three reports done by 9 AM tomorrow? Where in tarnation did you find that rusty old car? Who in tarnation is making all that noise?what in tarnationAn exclamation used to emphasize surprise, shock, anger, disgust, etc. Just what in tarnation is going on here? Aw, what in tarnation! I just had this fixed, and now there's a dent in it! What in tarnation! Don't sneak up on me like that!See also: tarnation, what |