The Archive

Etymology Journal · W

Well, that's just dandy

Meaning

Rarely used to describe something that is actually excellent. It is almost always used to express mild to moderate annoyance or sarcasm when things go wrong.

Sarcastic, irritated

Used in a sentence

  • The car has a flat tire in the middle of a downpour. Well that is just dandy.
  • My computer just crashed right before I saved my document. Well that is just dandy.
  • The flight was delayed by four hours. Well that is just dandy.

The backstory

The word dandy comes from the 18th century to describe something fine, but over time, Americans turned the phrase into a hallmark of sarcastic frustration.

Heard in

Nationwide

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