A puddle and kids
in
Speedos
"What in Tarnation?!"
I grew up on
"What in Tarnation?!"
It was always used as an expletive
or a euphemism
for an expletive
When I hid the beer in the grill
(I was only 18)
"What in Tarnation?!"
When, as a college graduate
I quit the 9-5 job
with benefits
at Northwest Mortgage
to Waitress
at Chi Chi's
"What in Tarnation?!"
When I joined the Peace Corps
"What in Tarnation?!"
The origin of "What in Tarnation?!"
A term used by those south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Used to describe suprising or shocking situations
(similiar usage as "what the f**k")
Such inventions as
“heck,”
“drat,”
“darn,”
“gosh,”
“jiminy,”
“gee-whiz”
and “goldarn”
were all devised to disguise exclamations
that would have been considered
shocking in polite society.
Today we could add
"frick"
"frickken"
to that list.
Any Others?
2 comments:
I once was pondering where the phrase "what in tarnation" came from (and whether tarnation was really a word) and had a revelation that maybe it was a hillbilly drawl (a la Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies) for "what in the entire nation?" I have always wondered if that was correct.
Verrrrry inter-r-r-resting, Susan...I never thought about it that way...
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