Is it “dam” or “damn”. Is it “site” or “sight”. To what are they referring? Where/how did this originate? Google was no help.
Damn sight, in parallel with “long sight”. Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang. “Long sight” is a measure of distance (how far you can see). “Damn” is a gerenal intensifier, i.e. “damn [long]” = “very long.”
I’d be puzzled to say how to make sense of “damn site”, “dam sight” or “dam site”.
And of course, it occurs to every burgh located next to a dam to advertise themselves as “Best town by a dam site”.
“Not by a dam site” would make sense as a prohibitory remark concerning something that would be dangerous to do in the proximity of a dam, I suppose.
And of course, for all you people always looking for a damn cite, here’s a dam site cite:
In other words, that’s a damn dam site cite sight.
It’s an Americanism, dating back to at least the 1830s. It was “damned sight.”
Early useages in print would quite often say “d____d” to avoid cursing. ** Dr. Drake** got it essentially correct.
Whenever someone said, Best in the west …" my mother always added “by a damnsite.” I never asked her why. Then we drove through the town of her birth, Bassano, Alberta, Canada. On the outside of town was a big sign: “Town of Bassano. Best in the west by a damsite.” Bassano boomed when the Bassano Dam was built on the Bow River, attracting farmers like my grandfather. So, at least ONE town that is by a damsite … and is damn proud of it!
Someone’s got to say it, if only out of a sense of professional pride:
“Civil Engineers are best by a dam site.”
I Vaguely remember a post from a member a while ago regarding the distance one can see being called a “look”.
Does five years of quietude make this a zombie thread by a damn sight? Would modest speakers say “dang sight” or “darn sight”? Are there minerals named damzite, dangzite, or darnzite? If not, should there be?