Do or be damned?
Of American-English origin, the phrase (you’re) damned if you do and damned if you don’t means that, in a specific situation, a person will be blamed or considered wrong no matter what he or she does.
Is damned if you do damned if you don’t the same as catch-22?
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Lose-lose situation. Often these idioms are used in place of “catch-22,” but none quite capture the tangled, philosophical weight associated with the original phrase.
Can’t be damned meaning?
2 —used to say that one cannot or will not do something —+ if I’ll be damned if I can remember where I left my keys. I’ll be damned if I’m going to eat any more of that disgusting food.
Is damned if you do damned if you don’t the same as Catch-22?
What do be damned mean?
Definition of be damned —used to say in a forceful way that one does not care about something I’m going to do it, the consequences be damned.
Is a catch-22 a lose-lose?
Lose-lose situation. Often these idioms are used in place of “catch-22,” but none quite capture the tangled, philosophical weight associated with the original phrase. The phrase is the logical paradox that holds Joseph Heller’s 1961 anti-war satire of the same name, Catch-22, together.
What is the idiom catch-22?
Definition of catch-22 1 : a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule the show-business catch-22—no work unless you have an agent, no agent unless you’ve worked— Mary Murphy also : the circumstance or rule that denies a solution.
Will I be damned meaning?
Definition of I’ll be damned 1 —used to show that one is very surprised about something Well I’ll be damned! Our team actually won! —often + if I spent an hour putting the machine together and I’ll be damned if it didn’t fall apart as soon as I tried to use it.
Are you damned if you don’t?
Yep, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t! Every possible action (or inaction) would result in a negative outcome or cause you trouble; there is no course of action that does not have a drawback.
Where did the idiom I’m damned if I do come from?
Eric Partridge suggested this idiom may have come from the emphatic I’m damned if I do, meaning “I definitely will not do something,” but despite the similar wording the quite different meaning argues against this theory. [ Colloquial; first half of 1900s] Also see catch-22.
Are you damned if you don’t skip an anniversary dinner?
Yep, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t! Every possible action (or inaction) would result in a negative outcome or cause you trouble; there is no course of action that does not have a drawback. So your boss will be mad if you miss the work event, and your husband will be disappointed if you skip your anniversary dinner.