[HPforGrownups] cultural references (was: Britishisms, swearing) Apologies for short post

[rosie]

No: HPFGUIDX 40605


> Rosie:
> >>"Damn" isn't really a curse word (it actually refers to an Indian coin
> of very little value, hence "I don't give a damn"); it's not strange
> that Hermione wouldn't pull the boys up on it.<<

Eloise:
"Sorry, I missed this or I would have commented last time.
That is a definition I have never come across (and it's not in my dictionary, 
either).
I have always understood it to mean a curse (as in 'damn it', or more 
unkindly, 'you') or as a short form of 'damnation', which curse also passes 
my lips fairly frequently.
These definitions *are* in my dictionary (Oxford Reference)."

Ah, yeh, I think you're right in that for example "Damn it all" or whatever comes from damnation, sort of a thing, but "I don't give a damn" (apparently) refers to the coin. As in Gone with the Wind.

Rosie


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