Meanings
- IrelandUKuncountableBad luck, failure, or evil befalling.
Bad cess to me, but it's too provokin', so it is; — and why couldn't you tell me so at wanst?
1834, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of Ireland3 more examples
...and so says the king to himself, "the divil receave the dhrop of that wine they shall get," says he, "... bad cess to the dhrop," says he, "my big-bellied bishop, to nourish your jolly red nose..."
1831, Samuel Lover, Legends and Stories of IrelandBad cess to the villains, but it's themselves that put me into the hobble, the thievin' rogues of the world.
1836, Philip Dixon Hardy, Legends, Tales, and Stories of IrelandSeen it with the ould Canal Company, bad cess to them, and all. People are decent enough in ones and twos, and maybe even threes, but they're worse than a lot of bad-mannered dogs when they band together into a crowd.
1963, Michael Farrell, Thy Tears Might Cease, Hutchinson
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bad cess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bad%20cess
“bad cess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bad%20cess. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bad cess,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bad%20cess.
Source: bad cess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.