What does dickens mean?
"Dickens" is a mild, informal euphemism for the devil, used chiefly in exclamations and questions that express surprise, bewilderment, or irritation — as in "What the dickens is that noise?" or "The dickens you say!" It belongs to a family of softened oaths, alongside "deuce" and "heck," that let speakers convey strong feeling without actual profanity. The word typically follows an interrogative such as what, where, who, or how, and it can also intensify phrases like "hurt like the dickens." Though somewhat old-fashioned in flavor, it remains current and instantly understood on both sides of the Atlantic. Its charm lies partly in its age: it appears in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor," written well before the birth of the novelist whose surname it happens to share — a coincidence with no etymological connection. For writers and speakers seeking a genteel, slightly playful note of exasperation, few words fit better.
nounA euphemistic substitute for 'devil', used in exclamations and questions to express surprise or annoyance without profanity.
- A euphemism for the devil, used in exclamations of surprise, annoyance, or emphasis ('what the dickens', 'the dickens you will').
"What the dickens is going on in here?"
"Where the dickens did I put my keys?"
"It hurts like the dickens when I bend my knee."
Rarely pluralized, since the word occurs almost exclusively in fixed exclamatory phrases.
'What the dickens?' has nothing to do with Charles Dickens — Shakespeare used it decades before the novelist was born.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dickens
"Dickens" arose as a minced form of "devilkins" or "devilkin" — a diminutive meaning "little devil" — and was in use by the late sixteenth century, appearing in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor" (c. 1600). It is a euphemism of the same family as "deuce" and other softened oaths. Despite its spelling, it has no connection to the novelist Charles Dickens, whose fame came more than two centuries later.
How dickens is actually used
Informal and somewhat old-fashioned but still widely understood in both British and American English. It functions as a mild, polite oath, allowing speakers to express frustration or astonishment while avoiding stronger profanity. It appears almost exclusively in interrogative and negative constructions introduced by what, where, who, how, or the.
Easily confused with dickens
The capitalized proper noun refers to the Victorian novelist Charles Dickens, whereas lowercase 'dickens' is a euphemism for the devil; the euphemism predates and is unrelated to the author.