Is it "damn thing" or "damned thing"?

I agree with Dusty in the main, but damned can be said for emphasis and seems more deliberate and harsher than damn. When John D. Rockefeller said "the public be damned" it had an especially contemptuous feel to it. When the Duke of Wellington, threatened with publication of embarrassing information about himself, told the would-be blackmailer "Publish and be damned," it had a defiant, lordly ring to it.

You can say damn in a friendly way, but damned goes that extra mile.

Damn is used now in place of Damned more or less synonymously, with the exception (as Robusto pointed out) that if something "is damned" or "be damned" then it calls to mind its more literal meaning of being consigned to Hell. This meaning is where the profanity derives from. Modern usage "This damned computer!" doesn't really carry that meaning.

Darn and Darned are similar. Etymology Online says that this word is a tame curse word used instead of Damn in New England when cursing was punishable by law. I feel that over time the word Damn has become less and less offensive, however I'd still rather my children not say it and use Darn instead.

I think damn is a verb and damned is an adjective explaining a noun. That is, if I am trying to personally do something to the subject, I'd say "damn that country", which would result in the country being damned; if I want to simply express the state of something (i.e., damned), I'd say "damned country."

I guess I have to personally responsible for the verb, but the adjective is merely a description of the subject. "Damn that country" means because of my words, the country is damned (if it hasn't been damned previously). "That damned country" means the country is already damned. .

For me: There are many euphemisms for words that have been considered swear words, curses, expletives or religious names taken in vain - different subject.

Damn and damned are used interchangeably these days, although the usage should be fairly obvious. 'Damn' is a verb used as an interjection and can be used on its own. "Damn!" 'Damned is an adjective and adverb and suggest, 'it has been condemned or deserves condemnation'. So, 'This damned computer is too slow.' The computer deserves condemnation for its poor performance. "Damn this computer!" - I am condemning this computer to Hell.

I'm going to argue that "damn" used as an adjective is short for "damned." My reasoning is that it can still take a subject. "Goddamn pirates!" vs. "God-damned pirates."

I would swear I've seen it in literature with an apostrophe: "The damn' pirates" but I haven't managed to find an actual reference.