bad cess

== 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. OED speculated that it either was from success or from assessment meaning a military or governmental exaction. === Noun === bad cess (uncountable) (British, Ireland) Bad luck, failure, or evil befalling. ==== 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 ===