what in tarnation meme

"What in tarnation" is a rhetorical question that means "what in damnation?" and is often associated with Americans living in the Southern United States expressing incredulous bewilderment. The term "tarnation" originated in the late 1700s as a euphemism for "damnation". The meme started with a picture of a Shiba Inu dog in a cowboy hat with the caption "what in tarnation". People quickly began photoshopping the western headgear on everything imaginable, incorporating applicable words that rhyme with the original caption. The meme is used to express confusion or anger at a situation or in a silly variation with a rhyming word.