daggone it!
Mild steam for annoyance, cousin to doggone it.
Also called doggone it, dag-gone it, daggone.
Updated September 21, 2026
daggone it! pronunciation
/DAG-gone it/
Meaning
Another porch-safe stand-in for damn it. Daggone it (and doggone it) lets you cuss without clearing the church pew. You hear it when the wrench slips, the truck won't start, or the remote vanishes into the couch. Same job as dadburn it, just a different shape.
How folks use it
- “Daggone it! I left the gate open and the calves got out.”
- “Daggone it, this remote never works when the ballgame's on.”
Origin and etymology
Doggone is a 1800s American minced form of God-damn (or felt as dog on it). Daggone is a Southern-leaning pronunciation variant listed beside it in slang dictionaries. Schele De Vere (1872) already tied doggone mainly to Southern use. Exact first spelling war is endless.
Frequently asked questions
Is daggone the same as doggone?
Pretty much. Daggone is how a lot of Southern mouths say the same mild oath.