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Damn the torpedoes

Cultural  
  1. An exclamation by David Farragut, an officer in the Union navy in the Civil War. Warned of mines, called torpedoes, in the water ahead, Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes! Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!”


Example Sentences

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As far as the "Damn the torpedoes" stuff, Admiral Dewey at least had a chance to shoot back and you don't seem to think even a verbal shot is in order.

From Time Magazine Archive

McCarthy, who says he factored a market crash into his plans from the start, may have hit upon the boldest approach to the new global economy: Damn the torpedoes!

From Time Magazine Archive

Now he directs more than the Central Intelligence Agency Since becoming chief of the CIA last March, Admiral Stansfield Turner has come on like David Farragut at Mobile Bay: Damn the torpedoes!

From Time Magazine Archive

Commodore Dewey belonged to that school of American naval officers who combine the spirit of Farragut's "Damn the torpedoes" with a thorough knowledge of the latest scientific devices.

From The Path of Empire; a chronicle of the United States as a world power by Carl Russell Fish

We have not yet begun to fight!" from the deck of the shattered, water-logged Bon Homme Richard, or a Farragut lashed in the rigging and roaring "Damn the torpedoes!

From The Fight for a Free Sea: A Chronicle of the War of 1812 The Chronicles of America Series, Volume 17 by Ralph Delahaye Paine

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