tarnation

[tahr-ney-shuhn]

interjection

1. damnation.

   Tarnation! Burned the fatback again.

noun

1. damnation; hell (used as a euphemism).

   Where in tarnation is that boy?

adverb

1. damned.

   What's making you so tarnation miserable?

tarnation

/ tɑːˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. a euphemism for damnation

Word History and Origins

Origin of tarnation¹

First recorded in 1775–85; blend of ’tarnal, dialectal pronunciation of eternal, and darnation ( def. ) (“hell”); damnation ( def. )

Example Sentences

Right now you’re all probably asking yourselves the same question: Who in tarnation is Adam Gelb, and what’s he doin’ in my Surge?

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“We need tolerance,” he was quoted as saying, “but good tarnation, there’s such a thing as taking it too far.”

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“And you wonder why in tarnation I’m going on about this to you,” he said.

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People named Pretty, Vangie, Beulah, Chilly Willie and Maple who wear blue suede shoes and go to bars called Cadillac Flats and Seashell’s and make declarations like “tarnation,” who work at feed stores and buy things at the Dollar Disco.

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He produced Jonathan Caouette’s surreal auto-doc “Tarnation.”

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