dickens

Everyday

1. Charles Dickens was a famous English writer of long novels, such as «Oliver Twist», «A Christmas Carol» and «Great Expectations». tree →
2. (old-fashioned, mild) «The dickens» is a gentle word for the devil, used to show surprise or annoyance, as in «What the dickens is that?» tree →
3. A Dickens novel or Dickens's world can mean a picture of poor, dirty, crowded old city streets. tree →

In the lessons

In school English, Dickens is read as a classic writer; pupils meet Scrooge, Oliver and Pip. «Dickensian» describes poor, grim old-fashioned places or a story with many odd characters. In everyday talk older people may say «what the dickens» or «as cute as the dickens» (US) instead of a stronger word. It is mostly a name, so it has few other uses.

Examples

• Our class is reading «A Christmas Carol» by Charles Dickens. tree →
• Dickens wrote about poor children working in London. tree →
• Scrooge is one of Dickens's most famous characters. tree →
• What the dickens is all that noise? (old-fashioned) tree →
• Grandpa said the puppy was as cute as the dickens. (US, old-fashioned) tree →
• The old workhouse looked like something out of Dickens. tree →
• We watched a play of «Oliver Twist», a Dickens story. tree →
• "What the dickens," said the squire, "do you mean by lying in the middle of the road like that?" tree →

Note

A proper noun: write it with a capital D when it means the writer. The possessive is «Dickens's» or «Dickens'». «The dickens» as a mild oath is lower case and old-fashioned; it is a softer word for «the devil», not rude. The adjective is «Dickensian».