the devil
adv1
Idiomatic Used to add emphasis to a question or statement.
- What the devil are you doing here at this time of night?
- VVhat is he an honeſt man? the deuill he is, he is the Parſon of the Towne, You thinke ther’s no knauerie hid vnder a black gowne, Find him in a pulpit but twiſe in the yeare, And Ile find him fortie times in the ale-houſe taſting ſtrong beare.1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:
1 more example
- “Brother,” said she, “whatever message Mr Blifil thinks proper to send to my niece shall be delivered to her; and I suppose she will want no instructions to make a proper answer. I am convinced she will not refuse to see Mr Blifil at a proper time.”—“The devil she won’t!” answered the squire.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:
- Derived terms
- the devils, the devil you say, the dickens, what the devils