confound it
1
9.9
- idiom
- Archaic
:
¡maldita sea!
- "Confound it," cried Mr. Gawfler at last.
Examples
-
"Confound it, lad."
-
"Confound it, cat," he muttered.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Confound it, cat," he muttered.
Synonyms
659
9.2
Shows strong anger, annoyance, or surprise in rude informal speech
347
8.9
An angry or surprised question showing you do not believe something
90
8.9
A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance
65
9.7
A strong expression showing anger, surprise, or urgency
33
9.9
A very rude phrase people say to show strong anger or annoyance
17
8.4
A short phrase people say when they feel frustrated or disappointed
15
8.4
A short angry cry people say when they feel annoyed or frustrated
1
9.9
People say a strong angry word when they feel very annoyed
1
8.6
A mild word people use to show they are annoyed about something
1
9.0
A short word people say to show mild anger, surprise, or frustration
1
9.9
A short cry people say when they feel frustrated or annoyed
1
9.9
To say an old-fashioned rude word to show surprise or anger
A short mild word people say when they are annoyed
An old mild word people say when they are annoyed
An old-fashioned word people say to show disbelief or annoyance
How Annoyed
Surface Forms
Morphology
confound + it
The exclamation 'confound it' does not literally follow from 'confound' (to perplex or confuse) + 'it' in a way a B1 learner would predict; its idiomatic use is a mild oath meaning 'damn it' based on an older sense of 'confound' (to damn or frustrate). The connection is metaphorical/extended and requires prior exposure to function as an interjection, so it is partly but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Confound it comes from the old use of confound meaning 'to ruin or mix up' when something went wrong. So people used it as a softer way to show anger, like saying 'damn it'.