It’s not worth a damn..

All the technological progress is not worth a damn if millions of children still go without proper food and education

This spoken English book is not worth a damn. I spent months reading it and there is hardly any improvement in my speaking. It talks about grammar rules which I understand when I read them but soon after, I forget.

Not worth a damn means something which is worthless. Infact it is an emphatic even slightly offensive way of saying this – so you wouldn’t want to use the phrase in front of your teachers or in an extremely formal environment.

Let’s take some examples:

1. The election manifestos of political parties promise people the moon however, in reality, they are not worth a damn. The parties do not mean what they say when they make promises and people do not believe them.
2. All the effort in trying to get 26/11 culprits was not worth a damn because they continue to roam freely in Pakistan and preach hatred against India.
3. All your arguments were not worth a damn infront of the astute judge and the mountain of evidence against Janga Singh.

Use this phrase when you want to offend the other party and say in a dismissive way that it is worthless.

Let’s take some more examples:

1. All your flattery is not worth a damn if not accompanied by sincere hardwork and results.
2. Everyone talked of internal democracy in the party. Everyone was hopeful. However, all their efforts were not worth a damn and this was proved when the party president’s son was once again selected for the top post.
3. All his show of sincerity is not worth a damn. People have seen how much concerned he is about them with the multi-crore scams he has done. He may escape the law but at least will lose the election.
4. All the good things written in law books about equality, fairness and justice are not worth a damn if we cannot provide the weaker sections of society a safe and fair atmosphere to earn an honorable living.