Key Takeaways
Grandma and Grandpa might seem abominably buttoned - up , but back in the day they couldcurselike crazy , too . The matter is , they used different watchword and phrases , all of which seem tame by today ’s standards , but at the time probably infuriate their parent and grandparent with their saucy nature .
1. Son of a Gun
It ’s pretty hard to definitively recognise where any character of slang initiate , so it ’s no surprise thatetymologists disagreeover how " son of a gun " came to be . It could be as simple as a milder take on " Word of a bitch , " which has been said for one C in reference to fatherless children . The phrase can be used in a number of state of affairs fittingly , whether out of wrath , pleasure or bemusement ( " Son of a gun , that honest-to-god Model - T still start after all these age ! " )
Another potential rootage is that it actually intend " Logos of a military man . " The British Navy , in particular , allowed women ( wife , prostitutes , what have you ) on sailplaning watercraft , and as a effect , tike were occasionally born on board . So , on the nascence credential the child ’s founding father ( if fatherhood was incertain ) would be heel as " boy of a hit man , " translate to " son of a military man . " Even if the child was a girl . Go build .
2. Dadgummit
Call it what you will – dadgummit , dagnabbitor goldarnit , these alterna - swear Book are plainly way your grandparents begin around wear any biblical commandment against " engage the Lord ’s name in vain " outright . Replace the first part with " God " and the second part with " damnit , " and you get the picture easily enough .
The origin of " dadgummit " isrumored to bethe attain telly show " The Real McCoys , " which starred Walter Brennan as Grandpa Amos , for whom " dadgummit " became his epic , land - boy , redneck catchphrase .
3. H-E-double-hockey-sticks
Our grandparents really consider they were commence away with swearing with this idiom , but we ’re all bright enough to know thatH - E - threefold - hockey game - sticksis just another way to say " hell . " No know who the H - E - double - hockey - spliff came up with this euphemism first .
4. Sam Hill
Ever wondered who Sam Hill was and what he did so wrong to have elder yelling out his name all the time ( " What in the Sam Hill are you speak about , male child ? " ) . Well , many Sam Hills have existed , but none of them engender the old locution , which issimply another wayof saying " Hell " without actually saying it . It date to the early nineteenth century .
5. Tarnation
Now , here ’s another sure-enough - timey phrase you ’d hear on TV Westerns . The give-and-take " tarnation , " which date back to the 18th century , comes from " darnation " which is derive from " eternal damnation . " It ’s also associated with another " curse word , " " tarnal , " which is a flesh of " endless . “As the Word Detective , put it , " To speak of ' the Eternal ' at that clock time was often to invoke a spiritual circumstance ( God , Heaven , etc . ) , and thus to label something or someone ' unceasing ' in a disparaging gumption ( ' You eternal baddie ! ' ) was considered a balmy oath . "
