What exactly does the term ‘Tarnation’ mean?

There are countless ways to express disbelief or confusion in a few words. Phrases like What in the world?, What on Earth?, and What the heck? all work, as do some other, less family-friendly alternatives. But when you're aiming to sound like a wild, gun-slinging, Stetson-wearing cowboy, none of them quite match up to What in tarnation?

So, what does tarnation really mean?

The Definition of Tarnation

The phrase What in tarnation? is not, as some people believe, a shortened version of What in the entire nation?. Tarnation is essentially a milder form of damnation, much like how heck substitutes for hell and darn replaces damn. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, tarnation originated from two words: darnation, a variant of damnation, and tarnal, a form of eternal used as a mild expletive. You might say “That tarnal cat!” just as you would say “That darn cat!” or even “That tarnation cat!,” since tarnation could also function as an adjective and adverb.

Though tarnation is often linked to the Wild West, its usage wasn’t limited to that period or place. The first written reference to the term comes from a 1787 play titled The Contrast: A Comedy in Five Acts, written by Royall Tyler and set in New York City. The play, frequently referenced as America’s first theatrical comedy, satirized two prominent American social groups: the pretentious Europhiles and the rugged, noble patriots. 

The character who frequently uses tarnation—along with tarnal and tarnally—is Jonathan, a manservant who represents a caricature of working-class New England Yankees. He’s akin to The Contrast’s Kenneth Parcell (from 30 Rock). Jonathan mostly exclaims “Tarnation!” on its own, but on one occasion he asks another character, “What the rattle makes you look so tarnation glum?” He also mentions “a tarnal blaze,” “a tarnal cross,” “a tarnal curse,” and candles that “smelt tarnally of brimstone.”

In brief, tarnation and its variations conjured up an image of down-home Americana—a connection that persisted as Americans moved westward.

Did Yosemite Sam Ever Exclaim “What in Tarnation?”

Many consider Looney Tunes’ Yosemite Sam—the fiery, gun-slinging character with a mustache nearly as large as his oversized hat, which is larger than him—to be the quintessential figure associated with the phrase What in tarnation?. However, the widespread belief that Sam constantly shouts that line might be an example of the Mandela effect: a collective false memory. 

We couldn’t find a single instance of him uttering tarnation in any original Looney Tunes cartoon, from his debut in 1945’s “Hare Trigger” to his last appearance in 1964’s “Dumb Patrol.” Even if one did slip through the cracks, it wouldn’t be enough to solidify tarnation (or What in tarnation?) as an iconic catchphrase of the character. Much more often, Sam can be heard shouting “Great horny toads!” or calling Bugs Bunny names—particularly varmint (a troublesome creature) and galoot (“a clumsy or uncouth person,” according to the OED).

That said, Yosemite Sam did use the word tarnation on a few more recent occasions.

• In the 1992 cartoon “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers,” Yosemite Sam exclaims, “Tarnation! Some rabbit’s got his footy prints all over my desert.” (This line closely mirrors one from 1955’s “Sahara Hare,” where he says, “Great horny toads, a trespasser! Gettin’ footy prints all over my desert.”)
• In the 2011 episode of The Looney Tunes Show titled “Fish and Visitors,” he yells, “What in tarnation is a-goin’ on here?” (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are throwing a loud house party.)
• In the 2012 episode “The Stud, the Nerd, the Average Joe, and the Saint,” he shouts, “What in tarnation are you doin’ here?” (He was sleeping through a house fire, and Bugs came to rescue him.)
• And in the 2013 episode “The Grand Old Duck of York,” Sam shouts “What in tarnation is he doin’ up there?” (Daffy is attempting to play the piano—badly and loudly.)

These modern references may not fully explain why so many people who grew up watching classic Looney Tunes cartoons link Yosemite Sam with the phrase What in tarnation?. As is often seen with the Mandela effect, there might not be a clear explanation beyond the way human memory can be imperfect. 

“What we understand about false memories is that they emerge through the process of reconstruction,” Gene Brewer, Ph.D., a cognitive psychology professor at Arizona State University, explained to Mytour in 2019. “When recalling an event, you integrate memories from surrounding events, often mixing elements from different experiences where they seem to fit.”

The word tarnation was also featured in other popular TV shows from the mid-20th century, such as Gunsmoke and The Beverly Hillbillies, and it’s possible that the term became linked to Yosemite Sam due to how well it fit his character’s image. 

Furthermore, dedicated Looney Tunes fans would have encountered the term at least once on the show. In 1949’s “Bowery Bugs,” when Bugs Bunny recounts the story of a thrill-seeker who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886, an elderly man remarks, “What in tarnation did he do that for?”