dickens

¹

[ dik-inz ]

noun

1. Usually the dickens. devil; deuce (often used in exclamations and as a mild oath):

   The dickens you say! What the dickens does he want?

Dickens

²

[ dik-inz ]

noun

1. Charles John Huf·fam, [huhf, -, uh, m], Boz, 1812–70, English novelist.

dickens

¹

/ ˈdɪkɪnz /

noun

1. informal.
   a euphemistic word for devil

   what the dickens?

Dickens

²

/ ˈdɪkɪnz /

noun

1. DickensCharles (John Huffam)18121870MEnglishWRITING: novelist 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)

Other Words From

• Dick·en·si·an [dih-, ken, -zee-, uh, n], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dickens¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; apparently a fanciful use of Dicken, form of Dick, a proper name

Word History and Origins

Origin of dickens¹

C16: from the name Dickens

Example Sentences

District Judge Joanna Dickens, sitting at Swindon Magistrates Court, ruled the company was negligent, because "of the failure to install monitoring equipment at an earlier time".

From BBC

“I find it hard to come up with an adequate analogy, but imagine the plain, contemporary style of Raymond Carver being garnished with the elaborate diction of Charles Dickens,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

The rectangular stone tablet is in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, where writers including Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen are commemorated.

From BBC

This scene seems plucked out of Charles Dickens, but we’re in the Pacific Northwest with a Filipino family and far removed from Victorian consciousness.

From Los Angeles Times

“I offer my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased Delta employees,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement posted online.

From BBC