Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
bad cess. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
bad cess, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
bad cess in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
bad cess you have here. The definition of the word
bad cess will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
bad cess, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Uncertain. Occurs in print at least as early as 1831, when Samuel Lover used the expression as one already long-established. He unambiguously stated the derivation of cess in the malediction bad cess to be an abbreviation of success.[1] OED speculated that it either was from success or from assessment meaning a military or governmental exaction.[2]
Noun
bad cess (uncountable)
- (British, Ireland) Bad luck, failure, or evil befalling.
1831, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of Ireland:...and so says the king to himself, "the divil receave the dhrop of that wine they shall get," says he, "... bad cess to the dhrop," says he, "my big-bellied bishop, to nourish your jolly red nose..."
1834, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of Ireland:Bad cess to me, but it's too provokin', so it is; — and why couldn't you tell me so at wanst?
1836, Philip Dixon Hardy, Legends, Tales, and Stories of Ireland:Bad cess to the villains, but it's themselves that put me into the hobble, the thievin' rogues of the world.
1963, Michael Farrell, Thy Tears Might Cease, Hutchinson:Seen it with the ould Canal Company, bad cess to them, and all. People are decent enough in ones and twos, and maybe even threes, but they're worse than a lot of bad-mannered dogs when they band together into a crowd.
Usage notes
Commonly used in the form bad cess to — , typically as:
- an oath: "Bad cess to me", equivalent to "I'll be damned if...", or
- a malediction:"Bad cess to the villains", equivalent to "damn them", or
- contemptuous dismissal or denial: "... bad cess to the dhrop", as in "forget the drop, there will not be one!".
References
- ^ Lover, Samuel: Legends and Stories of Ireland. 1831 Publishers Wakeman, Dublin; Baldwin and Cradock, London; Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.
- ^ Murray, J.A.H. The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (2 vols). Publisher: Oxford University Press. 1971. ISBN: 978-0198611172