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darn
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
darn
I.interjection
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I'll be darned if ...
I'll be darned!
a (damn/darned/darn) sight more/better etc
▪ Actually, a damn sight more than from that stiff gherkin Smott.
▪ I prefer my women a little older and a damn sight more sober.
▪ If he listened to Anthony Scrivener, he would be a darned sight better.
▪ Perhaps not up there with Wilburforce but a damn sight more daring than anything Diana ever did!
▪ The Galapagos finch was a darn sight more valuable than Sandra Willmot.
▪ We were a darned sight better than them.
darned if I know
II.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
pretty
▪ I figure from here to the Cloisters and back is pretty darn close to a half marathon.
▪ We really are blessed in California; we have it pretty darn easy.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a (damn/darned/darn) sight more/better etc
▪ Actually, a damn sight more than from that stiff gherkin Smott.
▪ I prefer my women a little older and a damn sight more sober.
▪ If he listened to Anthony Scrivener, he would be a darned sight better.
▪ Perhaps not up there with Wilburforce but a damn sight more daring than anything Diana ever did!
▪ The Galapagos finch was a darn sight more valuable than Sandra Willmot.
▪ We were a darned sight better than them.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Darned mosquito. It keeps flying around me.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ I think I know a little bit about this darn stuff.
▪ Or the whole darn lot of them in one ghastly premeditated assault?
▪ The first order of business is for the guys to save themselves from the elements, starvation, and that darn bear.
▪ The Raiders made theirs on the sideline watching Testaverde realize that he just might be able to win this darn thing.
▪ Then leave the darn thing alone.
III.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
well
▪ Boyd could darn well pay her more housekeeping to cover the extra hours of work.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Considering the arduous nature of their work, these require darning and stitching all too often.
▪ Gosh darn it, I expected it to be done.
▪ If it could darn socks, I'd marry it.
▪ Loopy Lil gently smiled her new even welfare smile while Mrs Hollidaye darned lisle stockings.
▪ Sore eyes I may have, but at least I am not blind and can still darn my own stockings.
IV.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
sight
▪ The Galapagos finch was a darn sight more valuable than Sandra Willmot.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I'll be darned if ...
I'll be darned!
darned if I know
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ I don't give a darn if the results don't coincide with the editorial board's political biases!
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Darn

Darn \Darn\, n. A place mended by darning.

Darn

Darn \Darn\, v. t. A colloquial euphemism for Damn.

Darn

Darn \Darn\ (d[aum]rn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Darned (d[aum]rnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Darning.] [OE. derne, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. darnio to piece, break in pieces, W. & Arm. to E. tear. Cf. Tear, v. t.] To mend as a rent or hole, with interlacing stitches of yarn or thread by means of a needle; to sew together with yarn or thread. He spent every day ten hours in his closet, in darning his stockings. --Swift. Darning last. See under Last. Darning needle.

  1. A long, strong needle for mending holes or rents, especially in stockings.

  2. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of dragon fly, having a long, cylindrical body, resembling a needle. These flies are harmless and without stings.

    Note: [In this sense, usually written with a hyphen.] Called also devil's darning-needle.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
darn

"to mend" c.1600, perhaps from Middle French darner "mend," from darne "piece," from Breton darn "piece, fragment, part." Alternative etymology is from obsolete dern (see dern). Related: Darned; darning.

darn

tame curse word, 1781, American English euphemism for damn, said to have originated in New England when swearing was a punishable offense; if so, its spread was probably influenced by 'tarnal, short for Eternal, as in By the Eternal (God), favorite exclamation of Andrew Jackson, among others (see tarnation). Related: darned (past participle adjective, 1806); darndest (superlative, 1844).

Wiktionary
darn

Etymology 1

  1. (context euphemistic English) damn. adv. (context degree euphemistic English) damned. interj. (context euphemistic English) damn. v

  2. (context transitive English) Euphemism of damn. Etymology 2

    n. A place mended by darning. vb. (context transitive sewing English) To repair by stitching with thread or yarn, particularly by using a needle to construct a weave across a damaged area of fabri

WordNet
darn
  1. n. a euphemism for `damn'

  2. something of little value; "his promise is not worth a damn"; "not worth one red cent"; "not worth shucks" [syn: damn, hoot, red cent, shit, shucks, tinker's damn, tinker's dam]

  3. sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment); "her stockings had several mends" [syn: mend, patch]

  4. v. repair by sewing; "darn socks"

Wikipedia
Darn

Darn may refer to:

  • Darning, a sewing technique
  • Darn, a minced oath used in lieu of damn
  • Darn, a unit of measurement, equal to 2.587 feet (US).

Usage examples of "darn".

He must have been an elderly boffin of great courtesy and patience to tolerate darn fool questions at this hour of the night.

But, by way of recreation, after the supper dishes had been washed up, Gertie darned socks, mended shirts, patched trousers for the men folk or sewed on some garment for herself.

You thought yourself a darned sight better than me, because you could play the piano and speak French.

You even tried to shoot me and I only made you look like a darned fool.

Buttonhole edging with darned centre, centre filled with strands of wool caught down at intervals with double back stitch.

The shamrock leaf has a darned contour of double threads, the filling was in stem stitch, solid, with bars of a darker colour worked across it.

The two small petals filled solid with stem stitch, three rows of which are used for outlining the long petal, the centre being filled with rings in buttonhole stitch and darned background.

Destiny read some kind of warning there, but darned if she could figure out what it meant.

He was darned lucky to have the support of his parents and Sylvia, people he could trust with Kayla.

This whole mess harked back to his stupid slip--calling her Lanni as the darned alarm jolted him awake.

When the price rose to fifteen thousand, Minty literally clung onto his hands and told him not to be a darned fool.

When I saw you standing there waving, I thought the whole darned works were all fouled up.

Was Anne Darner a clairvoyant, that she could predict a string of successes for his lordship?

I have wondered about the goings-on in that place ever since Anne Darner inherited it.

Anne Darner surpassed expectations as Hippolita, while Lady Louisa was utterly splendid as Isabella.