Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- devil; deuce (usually preceded by the and often used in exclamations and as a mild imprecation): The dickens you say! What the dickens does he want?
noun
- CharlesJohn Huf·fam, [huhf-uh m] /ˈhʌf əm/, Boz, 1812–70, English novelist.
noun
- informal a euphemistic word for devil what the dickens?
noun
- Charles (John Huffam), pen name Boz. 1812–70, English novelist, famous for the humour and sympathy of his characterization and his criticism of social injustice. His major works include The Pickwick Papers (1837), Oliver Twist (1839), Nicholas Nickleby (1839), Old Curiosity Shop (1840–41), Martin Chuzzlewit (1844), David Copperfield (1850), Bleak House (1853), Little Dorrit (1857), and Great Expectations (1861)
exclamation, 1590s, apparently a substitute for devil; probably altered from Dickon, nickname for Richard and source of the surnames Dickens and Dickenson, but exact derivation and meaning are unknown.