the dickens meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

the dickens

adv

Etymology See dickens.

Used as an intensifier.

4 more examples

I cannot tell what (the dickens) his name is my husband had him of, what do you cal your Knights name ſirrah?c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 49, column 1:
“[…] You’ll come in sight of the Martians I expect about half a mile along this road.” / “What the dickens are they like?” asked the lieutenant.1895–1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “What I Saw of the Destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton”, in “The War of the Worlds”, in Pearson’s, London: C[yril] Arthur Pearson, published 1897, page 39, column 1:
"That's it," I exclaimed, "--that's just the taste exactly, though I haven't experienced it since boyhood; but how can water from a flowing stream, taste thus, and what the dickens makes it so warm? It must be at least 70 or 80 Fahrenheit, possibly higher."1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter IV, in The Land That Time Forgot:
“Who in the dickens are you?” the lanky man said. / “I am a genie,” the creature said. “I have been trapped in the bottle for ages. You have released me so you are my master.”1992 November 4, Mike Royko, “Bush’s wish isn’t voters’ command”, in Chicago Tribune, 146th year, number 309, Chicago, Ill., →ISSN, →OCLC, section 1, page 3, column 1:

noun

Etymology See dickens.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see the, dickens; (euphemistic) the devil.

She can go to the dickens for what she said.
“Four weeks ago, I was sitting down for breakfast with my beautiful wife, Evie. Evie and I were sitting down with our two beautiful little boys, Connor and C-C-- Cah-- ristopher, and Christopher looks up to me-- he's six years old and full of the dickens--”2023 July 27, Max Brockman & Shana Gohd, “The Campaign” (8:49 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 5, episode 4, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):