Tarnation is basically just a gentler version of damnation, much like heck is to hell and darn is to damn. According to the oxford english dictionary, tarnation grew out of two terms:. Then in january, a tumblr user posted this photo of a shibu inu dog wearing a cowboy hat with the caption what in tarnation. The post got up to 12,000 notes.
Was first defined on urban dictionary on may 13 th, 2003, marking the beginning of its online use. Memes that feature the phrase started popping up on the internet in 2016, with one of the first instances being uploaded to tumblr by theoneoddgirl on december 11 th. Tarnation was derived from darnation, which was the first substitute euphemism for damnation that was commonly used in those days. The tar in tarnation was likely pulled from the word tarnal, which is a dialectal shortcut for eternal. Is a rhetorical question meaning what in damnation?, which is often used by americans living in the southern united states to expres What in tarnation? is a euphemistic expression of surprise, bewilderment or anger that arose in 18th and 19th century america. The meme picked up steam on twitter, but it was only in recent days that it morphed into something truly wonderful. Its a perfect meme template:
The meme picked up steam on twitter, but it was only in recent days that it morphed into something truly wonderful. Its a perfect meme template:
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