What is "damn the torpedoes"

vb. (context idiomatic English) (non-gloss definition: Used to dismiss the risks of a dangerous action).

Damn the Torpedoes is the third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1979. This was the first of three Petty albums originally released by the Backstreet Records label, distributed by MCA Records. It built on the commercial success and critical acclaim of his two previous albums and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Damn the torpedoes may refer to:

• A quotation attributed to David Farragut, referring to an order given at the Battle of Mobile Bay
• Damn the Torpedoes (album), a 1979 album by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• Damn the Torpedoes, a 1971 book by J. E. Macdonnell
• Damn the Torpedoes: Naval Incidents of the Civil War, a 1989 book by the son of Adolph A. Hoehling (homonym.)
• Damn the Torpedoes, a 1990 book by Paul Hellyer
• Damn the Torpedoes, a racing boat in the video game Hydro Thunder