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phrase

Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn

A dismissive farewell โ€” flat, polished, and faintly cruel.

Origin

Rhett Butler's exit line to Scarlett O'Hara at the end of Gone with the Wind (1939). The 'damn' famously caused trouble with the Hays Code, which forbade profanity in film; producer David O. Selznick paid a $5,000 fine for keeping it. The American Film Institute named it the greatest movie quote of all time.

Modern usage

Trotted out, sometimes ironically, sometimes earnestly, whenever someone wants a Hollywood-grade closing line.

Tags

farewell
dismissal

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