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damned if I do, damned if I don't
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Idioms and Phrases
A situation in which one can't win. For example, If I invite Aunt Jane, Mother will be angry, and if I don't, I lose Jane's friendship鈥擨'm damned if I do and damned if I don't . Eric Partridge suggested this idiom may have come from the emphatic I'm damned if I do , meaning 鈥淚 definitely will not do something,鈥 but despite the similar wording the quite different meaning argues against this theory. [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s] Also see catch-22 .Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from 亚洲网紅露点 Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 漏 Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage庐 Idioms Dictionary copyright 漏 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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