bad cess
English edit
Etymology edit
Uncertain. Occurs in print at least as early as 1831, when Samuel Lover used the expression as one already long-established. He unambiguously stated the derivation of cess in the malediction bad cess to be an abbreviation of success.[1] OED speculated that it either was from success or from assessment meaning a military or governmental exaction.[2]
Noun edit
- (British, Ireland) Bad luck, failure, or evil befalling.
- 1831, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of Ireland:
- ...and so says the king to himself, "the divil receave the dhrop of that wine they shall get," says he, "... bad cess to the dhrop," says he, "my big-bellied bishop, to nourish your jolly red nose..."
- 1834, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of Ireland:
- Bad cess to me, but it's too provokin', so it is; — and why couldn't you tell me so at wanst?
- 1836, Philip Dixon Hardy, Legends, Tales, and Stories of Ireland:
- Bad cess to the villains, but it's themselves that put me into the hobble, the thievin' rogues of the world.
Usage notes edit
Commonly used in the form bad cess to — , typically as:
- an oath: "Bad cess to me", equivalent to "I'll be damned if...", or
- a malediction:"Bad cess to the villains", equivalent to "damn them", or
- contemptuous dismissal or denial: "... bad cess to the dhrop", as in "forget the drop, there will not be one!".