What does this mean? "Those things don’t work worth a damn."
I read about this interesting article and it was about a trip to Italy. Somewhere in it the writer said that she was puzzled by some Italian-styled pieces of equipment. At first there was this backless toilet without a flusher but with two flush buttons on the wall, and then there was this hairdryer on the wall with a vacuum cleaner hose. After that she said, "Again, my utter immaturity could not be held back as I laughed myself silly as I dried my hair with the vacuum nozzle. Those things don’t work worth a damn, by the way."

I know what "not worth a damn" mean but I don't understand "not work worth a damn", because as far as I know, the word worth is normally preceded by a verb to be.

So what does "Those things don’t work worth a damn" mean or can you paraphrase it for me? Many thanks to you in advance.

Question

What does this mean? "Those things don’t work worth a damn."
I read about this interesting article and it was about a trip to Italy. Somewhere in it the writer said that she was puzzled by some Italian-styled pieces of equipment. At first there was this backless toilet without a flusher but with two flush buttons on the wall, and then there was this hairdryer on the wall with a vacuum cleaner hose. After that she said, "Again, my utter immaturity could not be held back as I laughed myself silly as I dried my hair with the vacuum nozzle. Those things don’t work worth a damn, by the way."

I know what "not worth a damn" mean but I don't understand "not work worth a damn", because as far as I know, the word worth is normally preceded by a verb to be.

So what does "Those things don’t work worth a damn" mean or can you paraphrase it for me? Many thanks to you in advance.

Answer

The sentence is not grammatically correct. It should be  "Those things don’t work and aren't worth a damn."

Answer

it means it doesn't work well or it isn't effective

Answer

Like Jaysunn said, it means it doesn't work. But the phrase puts extra emphasis on the fact that something isn't working. Also, its an excuse to curse. ;)

Answers · 3

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