curses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of curse.

   The tomb's walls were carved with curses against anyone who disturbed it.

   Low pay and long hours have always been the twin curses of the restaurant business.

   Note

   A regular plural for every countable meaning: spells laid on someone, swear words, and the troubles that dog a trade (the twin curses of low pay and long hours). The dated use for a menstrual period stays singular, in the fixed phrase the curse, so the plural does not carry that meaning.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of curse.

   Every time the Wi-Fi drops, my brother curses at the router.

   He still curses the day he signed that contract.

   Note

   The present-tense form for he, she, it or a singular noun. Its construction shows which meaning is in play: someone who curses at the router is swearing, while someone who curses the day, or curses an enemy, is wishing harm on it or blaming it. The same spelling also serves as the plural noun, as in a string of curses.

3. 3
   interjectiondatedhumorousUK

   Used as an exclamation of annoyance or frustration when something goes wrong.

   Curses! It's started raining again and I've left the washing out.

   Fisherman: '1 PLAY COIN FOR 100 GOLD, A BOUNTIFUL TRADE, IF I'D BE SO BOLD!' / Shovel Knight: 'NOT NOW' / FISHERMAN: 'CURSES! THE THOUGHT OF THIS BURDEN UPSETS ME, BUT THAT'S WHAT A LIFE OF ADVENTURING GETS ME!'

   2014, Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope

   Similardrat, blast, darn, rats

   Note

   A mild oath for small setbacks, and in British English it can still be said straight. In American English it sounds dated, or it is said for comic effect: the theatrical cry of a thwarted villain, or of the fisherman in Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight (2014) when a bargain falls through. Nobody is actually being cursed, so it is safe in almost any company.

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