The Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers
damn!
phrase: someone says these words (see more)
I thought like this a short time before: Something bad happened, I know it now.
I think about it like this: This is something bad for me. I don’t want this.
I feel something bad because of it. I want to say something bad now because of this. I want to say it in one moment.
Because of this, I say this word.
I think about this word like this: Some people can feel something bad when they hear this word. Because of this, some people think it is bad if someone says this word. I don’t think the same. I want to say this word.”
Note
The usage of 'damn' appears to be generational. For the older generations, it is stronger in meaning than for the younger generations. This can be accounted for by including 'very' before 'bad' in the secone part."When Jane discovers that she has made two appointments at the same time, she can say this word."
"Damn! I forgot to bring the papers to be scanned."
"Chris, you missed seeing the whales in the bay!' 'Damn!"
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