Etymology Journal · D
Dadburn it!
Meaning
- A minced oath used to express frustration or disappointment without resorting to actual profanity. It is the hallmark of a frustrated dad fixing something in the garage.
Frustrated, wholesome
Used in a sentence
- Dadburn it, I stripped the screw again.
- Dadburn it, the car would not start this morning.
- I dropped my keys in the gutter—dadburn it!
The backstory
This is a softened version of 'goddamn it.' By replacing 'god' with 'dad,' speakers can express their anger while remaining socially acceptable and polite.
Heard in
Midwest / The South
Vibe check