Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

what in tarnation en · INTJ

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) Used to add emphasis to "what" when beginning a question.
    • What in tarnation have you done with my wallet!?
    • Other euphemisms of this type (and there are many) include what in tarnation for what in damnation and what the Sam Hill for what the damn hell. 2005. Charles Harrington Elster, "What in the word?", Page 35
    • 2003. Judith Silverstein, Michael Lasky, "Online dating for dummies" What in Tarnation to Write I still remember the first girl I called up for a date at age 15.
    • 2007. Diane Stanley. "The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy" Page 141. “What in tarnation do you think you're doing?”

Synonyms

what on Earth · what the Devil · what the fuck · what the dickens