Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Informal A severe reprimand or expression of anger: gave me the dickens for being late.
- n. Informal Used as an intensive: What in the dickens is that?
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The deuce: used interjectionally, with the definite article (formerly sometimes with the indefinite).
Wiktionary
- n. euphemistic The devil.
- n. In the phrase the dickens (Used as an intensifier).
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A vulgar euphemism. The devil.
WordNet 3.0
- n. English writer whose novels depicted and criticized social injustice (1812-1870)
- n. a word used in exclamations of confusion
Etymologies
- Origin: 1590–1600; apparently a fanciful use of the proper name Dicken, form of Dick. (Wiktionary)
- Alteration of devil (influenced by the name Dickens). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“What the dickens is the government trying to do to the US?”
“I don't know who in dickens you think you are, but "good American" you certainly are not.”
“But who the dickens is it? said Tommy, after shaking hands heartily with Nat.”
“But what the dickens is the story behind the hands-on-chest cake?”
“What a dickens is the Woman always a whimpring about Murder for?”
“You know, when -- when Don taught me how to ask a tough question and go after him, they would look at me as, like, you know, what the dickens is the matter with you?”
“How the dickens is a fellow to get to sleep while you're playing Punch and Judy in there?”
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, December 26, 1891
“What the dickens is the woman drivelling about?" the General demanded.”
“And who the dickens is the President of the League when he's at home?”
“Where the dickens is the proof for next Sundays calendar?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘dickens’.
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FUN - Jeeves and Wooster - Wooster
"Woosterisms" as heard from the character " Wooster" in P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster" stories.
be potty about, be tutted at, biff, big fella, bit of a cropper, blighter, blot, By gee!, By gosh!, By gum!, chilled steel, chokey and 115 more...
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people commonly known by their last name
inspired by people commonly known by their first name: people are more likely to know their last name than their first: not famous enough to be eponyms though
picasso, wyeth, matisse, manet, van gogh, rubens, renoir, gauguin, chagall, delacroix, miro, dali and 64 more...
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Paladin
heroic mot-i(c)ons
el cid, paladin, hero, pahlevan, lifesaver, dickens, bellerophon, abydos, ramachandra, arminius, saga, Arpad and 42 more...
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The Devil and His Imps
Names of 'the Devil himself, the devils his "flaming ministers", household goblins, rural demons, bogles, sprites, and fairies of all kinds' mentioned in Charles P.G. Scott's 'The Devil and His Imp...
devil, devilet, deviling, dablet, black angel, black man, black bear, black bull, black dog, bogle, bogie, boggard and 128 more...
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huck finnian
ain't, stretchers, without, sivilize, hogshead, victuals, bulrushers, tolerable, goggles, middling, reckoned, who-whooing and 287 more...
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southernisms
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New words, not to be confused with th...
maladroit, aphasia, delphinium, bromide, greenhorn, just deserts, loth, supplanted, steeplechase, steeple, annex, vestments and 236 more...
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Nana Words
My Nana, that is.
piazza, warsh, slim, listen here, dickens, chrisapoo, mine, young man, young lady, waste paper basket, behave, parlor and 15 more...
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Aminals
My pets' names and nicknames past and present
squiggy, squitler, squigaboo, tai quob kabob, booger, boogie, bogart, furguson, furgie, two berets, walter snarfer, gizmo and 75 more...
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Speak of the Devil
Different names for Old Boy, and other demons that might possess us.
vetala, mara, Lilith, dybbuk, incubus, succubus, bogle, boggart, wendigo, Asmodeus, diabolus, Belial and 45 more...
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D is for Daisy Cutter
My D Words
data exhaust, daft punk, dandelion, dackelblick, daft, daisy, daisy cutter, dame, dandy, danke, dapper, death rattle and 62 more...
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My first list
Words of interest
ganef, rebus, poseur, gneiss, kerfuffle, dickens, doppelganger, schlepp, slog, ganja, cruft, paterfamilias and 26 more...
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Lefty"s favs
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Worst authors in the history of the p...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for dickens.
oroboros Corruption of "Old Nick" - the Devil. (via NPR's Says You) Aug 6, 2011
brtom "... and then shin for the raft like the dickens was after you!" HF 23 Dec 6, 2006