Green’s Dictionary of Slang

god-damn v.

1. (also goddam) to curse, an all-purpose profanity, used in a variety of oaths; often as God damn me!; thus god-damn it! excl.

[UK]Dekker Honest Whore Pt 1 III ii: God dam me, Gentlemen, if she be within.
[UK]J. Harington Epigrams IV No. 9: Hauing sworne away all faith and troth, / Only God dam’n them is their common oath.
[UK]Proceedings before his Highness Councel concerning the Petitioners of the Isle of Ely against George Clapthorne Esqyure 27 Oct. 4: He hath known him to be a common Swearer and Curser [...] his usuall Oathes and Curses being, By Gods wounds [...] God damme me.
[UK]Rochester in Works (1999) ‘Tunbridge Wells’ 52: God damn me, Madam, I’me th’ Son of a Whore, / If in my Life I saw the like before!
[UK]D’Urfey ‘The New-Market Song’ in Ebsworth Roxburghe Ballads (1885) V:1 144: ‘God-dimme!’ quoth Bully, ‘’tis done.’.
[UK]G. Granville She-Gallants II i: Speak to her, Geddemme, No: Was ever any thing so foolish?
Tryal of Thomas Cook, the Prize-player, called the Butcher of Gloucester 2: He swore God damn his Blood that he would have the Blood of some of them before he came out of the Fair.
[Scot]R. Wodrow Analecta II (1842) 173: He mett with two gentlemen in very good habite, sparks, as they are called, [...] one of them say, ‘God damn you! hoe doe you doe this morning?’ The other sayes, ‘God damn me! I am yours.’.
[UK]C. Walker Authentick Memoirs of Sally Salisbury 47: She sprung up [...] with, a G-d D--n you! You a Lord, You a Pimp! says sally, to use me in this manner.
[UK]J. Dalton Narrative of Street-Robberies 10: G-d D---n those who first invented Haul Cly, for they ruin us Fro Files.
[UK]Proceedings Old Bailey 11 Sept. 144/2: Hooper stepped up to the Prosecutor first, and clapped a Pistol to his Mouth, and swore G – D – your Blood, I will blow your Brains out.
[UK]Richardson Clarissa VII 16: G-d d--n ye, Sir!
[UK]J. Cox Narrative of Thief-takers, alias Thief-makers 57: G-d D--n you.
[UK]Leeds Intelligencer 8 May 4/2: Come on, you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, God damn you.
[UK]‘Peter Pindar’ ‘Odes of Importance’ Works (1794) III 208: Why, what a breeze is here, G-d d-mn my eyes!
[UK]Derby Mercury 4 Sept. 4/4: Thomas Spur [...] was found guilty of the following seditious expressions, viz. ‘God damn the King’ [etc.].
[UK]‘A. Burton’ My Cousin in the Army 199: But no reply, except a hum From Swallow, and a choak’d G-d-dam. [Ibid.] 285: G-d d--n your eye, who e’er you are.
[UK]W.A. Miles Poverty, Mendicity and Crime; Report 108: God d--n his old eyes, but he did it like a gentleman.
[US]Democratic Standard (Georgetown, OH) 25 June 1/4: Go home, God damn you! where you belong!
[US]S. Northup Twelve Years A Slave 109: G-d d--n you!
[Scot]Dundee Advertiser 28 Mar. 7/1: God damn it, sir, it’s all stuff and nonsense.
[UK]Blackburn Standard 15 May 3/4: Two police officers heard him using the oaths ‘God damn’ and ‘God blast’ many times.
[UK]Star (Guernsey) 3 Aug. 3/6: His Majesty said, as we were approaching, ‘This is O’Connell; Goddamn the scoundrel!’.
Idaho Semi-Wkly (ID) 23 Nov. 2/2: Chinaman no sabe God; heap sabe God damn.
Dly L.A. Herald 23 Mar. 3/2: He shouted, ‘God damn you, I’m not afraid of any of you’.
[UK]Sheffield Eve. Teleg. 23 May 2/3: God bless Ireland and God damn England.
Staunton Spctator & Vindicator (VA) 18 Aug. 2/3: In Virginia it is not customary to God damn white men except jail birds.
[Scot]Dundee Courier 27 Apr. 5/6: I speak of the Sultan [...] as the great assassin. I say in the name of God, ‘God damn the Sultan’.
[US]Salt Lake Herald (UT) 23 Feb. 3/3: Did you use the expression ‘God damn Senator Cormack?’.
[Scot]Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 13 May 2/7: God damn the German pirates [...] an’ God damn the British workin’ man.
[US]Sun (NY) 23 Nov. 58/2: God damn the Germans!
[UK]Dover Exp. 12 Nov. 4/5: He said ‘God damn the ship; go to hell!’.
[US]C. McKay Home to Harlem 6: Twenty, God damn them, days across the pond.
[US]D. Lamson We Who Are About to Die 28: All right, God damn you, get up here!
[Aus]D. Stivens Courtship of Uncle Henry 45: Here’s my curse upon you all, God damn your eyes!
[US]J. Thompson Savage Night (1991) 7: Goddam you.
[US]B. Hecht Gaily, Gaily 100: Goddamn her soul to hell!
[US]C. Hiaasen Lucky You 160: Goddamn you guys.

2. to swear, to curse.

[US](con. 1910s) J.T. Farrell Young Lonigan in Studs Lonigan (1936) 5: He god-damned himself, because he was getting soft.
[US]S. Woodward Paper Tiger 3: [T]he men of the Amphion were more ugly and nervous than ever as they god-damned their sister ship and scanned the horizon for smoke.

In exclamations

I’ll be goddamned! (also damn my soul! I’ll be goddam!)

a general excl. of emphasis or surprise, implying one’s refusal to accept a given situation; lit. ‘cursed’.

[UK]Thrale Thraliana i Aug.-Sept. 150: Gwynn the Architect was telling a Story—Damn my Soul says Gwynn & stopt; somebody interrupted him & sayd pry'thee tell thy Story without swearing—I wull says Gwynn, and so Damn my Soul—as I said before—.
[US]Edgefield Advertiser (SC) 13 Oct. 2/2: I’ll be God damned,’ ‘God damn my soul’ and other such phrases.
[US]Dos Passos Three Soldiers 355: They don’t have that stuff down on the farm . . . School Detachment; I’ll be goddamned!
[US]D.M. Garrison ‘Song of the Pipeline’ in Botkin Folk-Say 107: Wahl, I’ll be goddam.
[US]D. Fuchs Low Company 4: Well, I’ll be goddammed, that’s all I can say.
[US](con. 1910s) J. Thompson Heed the Thunder (1994) 25: Well, I’ll be goddamned!
[US]D. Dodge Bullets For The Bridegroom (1953) 34: Whit said thoughtfully, ‘I’ll be god damned’.
[US]H. Selby Jr Last Exit to Brooklyn 261: She was ghuddamned if she’d take any lip from anybody.
[US]D. Ponicsan Last Detail 52: ‘Well, I be goddam,’ says Mule.
[US]G. Pelecanos Right As Rain 280: He said, ‘I’ll be goddamned,’ and said it again as he went through the rest.