Word
dickens
Phoneticsdick·ens
US/ˈdɪkənz/
UK/dˈɪkənz/
Definitions
01the devil (intensifier)
n. a funny, old-fashioned word for 'the devil' used to show surprise or anger in a question.
n. a euphemistic substitute for 'the devil', used as an intensifier in interrogative constructions to express surprise, frustration, or emphasis.
“Where the dickens did I leave my car keys?”
“What the dickens is going on in the garden that is causing such a commotion among the neighbours?”
Humorous · Archaic
Usage
Always used with the definite article 'the' and typically found in questions starting with 'who', 'what', 'where', or 'how'.
Teaching tip
This is very old-fashioned; students will encounter it in 19th-century literature or when someone is being intentionally funny and polite.
02trouble or a mess
n. a lot of trouble, a loud argument, or a big mess.
n. a state of significant trouble, a loud disturbance, or physical damage.
“The heavy storm played the dickens with our travel plans.”
“The new tax regulations have played the dickens with the accounting department's end-of-year projections.”
Humorous · Archaic · British English
Usage
Commonly used in the idiom 'to play the dickens with' something.
Teaching tip
Explain that 'play the dickens with' means to cause a lot of problems or damage.
Etymology
From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
play the dickens with — Synonym of play the devil with.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/dickens