dickens

Related to dickens: like the dickens

(as) hot as the dickens

old-fashioned slang Extremely and uncomfortably hot. On summer days in Texas, when it's hot as the dickens outside, there's nothing quite like a tall glass of sweet tea. I hate working in the theme park during the summer because it's as hot as the dickens in the costumes they make us wear.
See also: dickens, hot

dickens

1. The devil. Typically used as an intensifier. What the dickens is going on in here? I heard that loud bang all the way down the hall.
2. A mischievous child. A: "Ella just pulled over a chair so she could reach the cookies on the high shelf." B: "Boy, she's a clever little dickens, that's for sure."

go to hell

1. rude slang An expression of angry dismissal or contempt. How can you say such an awful thing to me? Go to hell!
2. verb To deteriorate to a state of extreme disorder, corruption, or depravity. The whole department has gone to hell ever since you stepped down as manager.
See also: go, hell

like the devil

An intensifier used when one puts forth great effort to do something. I'm planning to fight like the devil against this illness, so I'm researching both Western and Eastern methods of treatment. We've been working like the devil to get the update finished before the Christmas break.
See also: devil, like

like the dickens

An intensifier used when one puts forth great effort to do something. I'm planning to fight like the dickens against this illness, so I'm researching both Western and Eastern methods of treatment. We've been working like the dickens to get the update finished before the Christmas break.
See also: dickens, like

raise the dickens

To cause or get into trouble; to engage in unrestrained and excessively disruptive behavior. I started raising the dickens as soon as I was in college and could do what I wanted, but I mellowed out after I graduated. The customer has been raising the dickens about the service charge we included on his bill.
See also: dickens, raise

raise the dickens with (someone or something)

1. To cause a lot of serious issues or disruptions for someone or something. The road closures have raised the dickens with rush-hour traffic. The blizzard is raising the dickens with travelers flying in and out of the region.
2. To make a lot of angry, vocal complaints with someone or some group, department, organization, etc. There's been one customer raising the dickens with our customer service team for the last week over some issue with his software. The problem isn't going to go away on its own—you need to go raise some the dickens with your boss or the head of HR.
See also: dickens, raise

scare the dickens out of (one)

To shock or frighten one very suddenly or severely. "Dickens" is a euphemism for "devil." Don't sneak up on me like that—you scared the dickens out of me! The sound of the fire alarm scared the dickens out of us this morning.
See also: dickens, of, out, scare

what (in) the dickens

An exclamation used to emphasize surprise, shock, or bafflement. Just what the dickens is going on here? What in the dickens? I just put my sandwich down, and now it's gone!
See also: dickens, what
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

go to hell

 and go to (the devil) 
1. Inf. to go to hell and suffer the agonies therein. (Often a command. Caution with hell.) Oh, go to hell! Go to hell, you creep!
2. Inf. to become ruined; to go away and stop bothering someone. (Use hell with caution.) This old house is just going to hell. It's falling apart everywhere. Leave me alone! Go to the devil! Oh, go to, yourself!
See also: go, hell

*like the devil

 and *like the dickens; *like hell
Fig. with a fury; in a great hurry; with a lot of activity. (*Typically: fight ~; run ~; scream ~; thrash around~.) We were working like the dickens when the rain started and made us quit for the day.
See also: devil, like

raise the dickens (with someone or something)

to act in some extreme manner; to make trouble; to behave wildly; to be very angry. John was out all night raising the dickens. That cheap gas I bought really raised the dickens with my car's engine.
See also: dickens, raise

What (in) the devil?

 and What (in) the dickens?
Inf. What has happened?; What? (Often with the force of an exclamation.) What in the devil? Who put sugar in the salt shaker? What the dickens? Who are you? What are you doing in my room?
See also: what

What the devil?

 and What the fuck?; What the hell?; What the shit?
What has happened?; What? (Often with the force of an exclamation. What the fuck? and What the shit? are taboo.) What the devil? Who put sugar in the salt shaker? What the fuck? Who are you? What are you doing in my room? What the shit are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work.
See also: what

You scared the hell out of me.

 and You scared the crap out of me.; You scared the dickens out of me.; You scared the devil out of me.; You scared me out of my wits.; You scared the pants off (of) me.
You frightened me very badly. (Also with subjects other than second person. Of is usually retained before pronouns.) He scared the hell out of all of us. She really scared the pants off of me.
See also: hell, of, out, scare
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

go to hell

Also, go to the devil or dickens . Go to everlasting torment, ruin, or perdition. For example, Nancy did not mince words but simply told him to go the devil, or Go to hell, Tom, I won't give you another cent. These phrases are often uttered as angry imperatives to order someone to go away. Hell, devil, and dickens (a euphemism for "devil") all refer to the underworld, the residence of the devil, from which a person would never return.
See also: go, hell
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

go to hell

INFORMAL
1. If you say that someone can go to hell, you mean that you do not care about them or their opinions and that you do not want anything to do with them. I certainly don't care what Sylvia thinks — she can go to hell. If he's going to treat my children like that, he can go to hell as far as I'm concerned.
2. If you say that a thing or an activity can go to hell, you mean that you do not care if you do not have it or do it. All the talking and coffee-drinking could go to hell as far as he was concerned.
3. If you tell someone to go to hell, you tell them angrily to go away. If he dares to complain, tell him to go to hell. Compare with be going to hell.
See also: go, hell
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

like the devil (or a demon)

with great speed or energy.
See also: devil, like
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

like the ˈdevil

(old-fashioned, informal) very fast, hard, etc: We had to work like the devil to be finished on time. I ran like the devil, but I still missed the bus.
See also: devil, like

go to ˈhell

(spoken, offensive) used to tell somebody to go away or to stop saying/doing something because it is annoying: He wanted to come back but she told him to go to hell. ‘Why don’t you answer my question, Jim?’ ‘Oh, go to hell, will you? I’m tired of your stupid questions.’
See also: go, hell
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

dickens

1. and the dickens n. the devil. (Always with the in this sense.) I felt as bad as the dickens, but what could I do?
2. n. a devilish or impish child. (Also a term of address. Usually with little.) You are such a cute little dickens!

the dickens

verb
See dickens
See also: dickens

What the devil?

verb
See What in the devil?
See also: what
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • (as) hot as the dickens
  • (as) hot as the devil
  • (as) hot as fire
  • hot as fire
  • (as) hot as blazes
  • hot as blazes
  • (as) hot as hell
  • hot as hell
  • hot enough to burn a polar bear's butt
  • red hot
References in periodicals archive
After hearing evidence, the judge said that the sole issue for the court was whether Dickens may have been acting in lawful self-defence.
Ex-property tycoon loses bid to have assault rap overturned; CONVICTED OF ATTACK ON HIS EX-WIFE'S NEW BOYFRIEND
The discovery centered on payments Dickens made to a key witness in the Combs case, Glen Cusimano, whom she was also representing in another matter against the same defendants.
Judge chides attorneys in entertainment-district case
There's no edge, bravado or inflated ego to Dickens, who'll appear on Tommy Owens' Holte Suite, Aston Villa, show on Saturday, February 17.
Dickens embodies true spirit of the grassroots fight game
With a growing family but a shrinking career, Dickens is in desperate need of a hit.
EBENEZER'S GOOD
"Mr Dickens dead?" a hysterical young barrel girl shrieked.
Snow, turkey, days off work and goodwill to all men how Dickens' poverty protest novel reinvented Christmas; NEW FILM EXPLORES AUTHOR'S FESTIVE LEGACY
To write a new book about either Charles Dickens or London would be a daunting enough task.
The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London
Originally proposed to memorialize the 2012 Lowell public exhibition "Dickens and Massachusetts: A Tale of Power and Transformation," the volume celebrates the success and lasting effects of Charles Dickens' visits to the area in 1842 and again in 1864.
Dickens and Massachusetts: The Lasting Legacy of the Commonwealth Visits
Polsky's book offers four extraordinarily long, wide-ranging, and often meandering chapters, which variously read London's housing crisis, contemporary finance capitalism, imperial labor, and neoliberal empire in relation to Dickens's novels Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and A Christmas Carol.
We other Dickensians
The resulting show, Adam Long's Dickens Abridged is a musical comedy that romps through Dickens' greatest hits - from Oliver Twist and Great Expectations to Bleak House and A Christmas Carol.
What the Dickens? An abridged show
It has seen the addition of a champagne and cocktails garden; new front and sign, patio and bi-folding doors; updated toilets in the Gold Room and a new bar and a 140ins screen for football in the main Dickens.
Pub toasts new champagne garden
During the mid-19th century, Charles Dickens was editor of his own magazines: Household Words and All Year Round.
Charles Dickens and the Mid-Victorian Press 1850-1870
At the age of twenty, Catherine Hogarth married the writer Charles Dickens, and became Catherine Dickens.
The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth
In 1846, Charles Dickens wrote to his close friend and future biographer John Forster, informing him that he was seriously considering the idea of giving paid readings of some of his most popular stories.
Performing authorship in the celebrity sphere: Dickens and the reading tours
JAZZA DICKENS insists a revamped diet will make his critics eat their words.
DIET TO MAKE CRITICS EAT WORDS; I'm stronger and more explosive - Dickens
That was Ralph Fiennes getting down to the nitty-gritty of Charles Dickens, whom he portrays in his new film, "The Invisible Woman,'' which he also directed.
Ralph Fiennes materializes in 'The Invisible Woman'