A Display of Diddly-Darn Dandy Memes

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Aug 10, 2022 10:00 PM EDT

There's nothing more endearing than watching religious children try not to swear. They shout "son of a biscuit" after stubbing their toe. These kids have an endless diatribe of "fricks" pouring out of their mouths daily. This goofy censorship is one of the last great American dynasties.

One of my favorite anti-swear words is "gosh diddly darn." Aside from its apparent southern flair, the alliteration and the modification of "darn" with the far more silly "diddly" elevates this phrase to a place of high theatrics. Gosh, diddly darn is one of the most significant linguistic developments the English language has seen in the past 400 years.

Sadly, self-censoring kids grow up and stop saying their ridiculous little catchphrases. Although this can be a devastating loss, these kids can move on to more edgy material, such as the jokes found in memes. Although they lose part of themselves, they open up to gain something new.