# Damn your eyes!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 19, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176 "2009-11-19T18:33:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176/1 "2009-11-19T18:33:17Z")

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What is the origin of the curse, ‘Damn your eyes!’?

And just to beat everyone to the punch, Igor says ‘Too late!’ 😛

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**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176/2 "2009-11-19T20:43:15Z")

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IIRC, Captain Bly’s book,\* Mutiny aboard HMS Bounty\*, or something like that, available on [Gutenberg.org](http://Gutenberg.org), has him quoting one of the mutineers as using that term. Don’t know of any earlier.

hh

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176/3 "2009-11-19T20:53:00Z")

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["The OED’s earliest reference is from Tristram Shandy, 1761:

From the great and tremendous oath of William the Conqueror, (By the splendour of God) down to the lowest oath of a scavenger, (Damn your eyes)."]([Take Our Word For It, page two, Words to the Wise](http://www.takeourword.com/TOW206/page2.html))

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-your-eyes/518176/4 "2009-11-19T21:45:06Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> And just to beat everyone to the punch, Igor says ‘Too late!’ 😛

You’re a scurvy dog, you are.