poppy Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 "Like the dickens" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I've heard and probably even used the expression...but now I'm realizing I don't actually know what it means. I mean, I know when it's appropriate to use it, but I don't know what it literally means. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Looked it up in the urban dictionary. That makes sense. Now I know when to use it and what the phrase literally means as well. Dickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Looked it up in the urban dictionary. That makes sense. Now I know when to use it and what the phrase literally means as well. Dickens. I don't think urban dictionary is correct on this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes, I know the expression and without looking it up I always understood (assumed :unsure: ?) that dickens was a euphemism/replacement for devil. I just assumed it was because some people are uncomfortable with using the words God, devil, hell, for a variety of reasons and used words like Gosh, dickens and heck to fill in for them in other expressions. Oh my gosh, What the heck Run like the dickens. etc... So....what does it mean? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I assume I do - "run like the dickens" - go fast. But the other post on 420 caught me off guard so I don't think I want to know if I'm wrong. :glare: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes, I know the expression and without looking it up I always understood (assumed :unsure: ?) that dickens was a euphemism/replacement for devil. I just assumed it was because some people are uncomfortable with using the words God, devil, hell, for a variety of reasons and used words like Gosh, dickens and heck to fill in for them in other expressions. Oh my gosh, What the heck Run like the dickens. etc... So....what does it mean? The bolded is correct, as far as I know. Although, personally, if I say something "hurt like the dickens," I mean that it "was as painful as reading A Tale of Two Cities," because I couldn't stand that book. ;) 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes, I know the expression and without looking it up I always understood (assumed :unsure: ?) that dickens was a euphemism/replacement for devil. I just assumed it was because some people are uncomfortable with using the words God, devil, hell, for a variety of reasons and used words like Gosh, dickens and heck to fill in for them in other expressions. Oh my gosh, What the heck Run like the dickens. etc... So....what does it mean? You're right, and you are more right than I was for most of my life! I used to think it referred to the author Charles Dickens. Now I know he was an author with a kinda funny name. In terms of "minced oaths" there are a lot of classics, but my favorite has always been Jeezum Crow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Although, personally, if I say something "hurt like the dickens," I mean that it "was as painful as reading A Tale of Two Cities," because I couldn't stand that book. ;) Oh, thank you--I thought I was the only one! :laugh: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 "You"ll get the dickens!" meant you would be in big trouble when I was a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes, I know what it means. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I USE it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 I USE it! Me too. Frequently. As does all my extended family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes, but I only recently learned its meaning. I don't remember where or why I read about it but it was within the past few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) double post Edited October 12, 2016 by Lady Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RioSamba Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Oh, thank you--I thought I was the only one! :laugh:I know the expression, but it should mean something about the author. I detest his work. I'm dreading revisiting any of it with DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes. My maternal grandmother (born in 1922) from Kentucky used it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 my mother used this phrase, "it hurt like the dickens." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Funny story: One time - I think I was about 6 or 7 years old - my granny said the phrase, and I asked her who the Dickens were. I'd never met them, and she talked about them a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 If you watch Grantchester you'll hear it a lot :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes. It is commonly used in my family. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) I have heard it used as "You are full of the dickens" Edited October 12, 2016 by QuirkyKapers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes but come to think of it, I don't think I've really heard it used by anyone born after 1960. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Yes but come to think of it, I don't think I've really heard it used by anyone born after 1960. I have used it a lot when I was younger (it seemed everyone did), and I still use it some today. I was born in the 1960s. The phrase "like the dickens" means "a lot", basically, and it is not a reference to Charles Dickens. "Dickens" is an old (Shakespeare old) reference to the devil. As for dear, old Charlie: I wish I could write "like a dickens"! Yes, his stuff can be a little heavy going if you aren't used to it yet, but oh! his word play! He cracks me up! I've been reading aloud some of the passages from David Copperfield to my kids -- they are reading other classics and will be reading A Christmas Carol this December -- and they've been grinning and guffawing along with me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) I figured it was kinda like an extreme... "hurt like the dickens" (hurt very much/like hell) "run like the dickens" (run very fast/run like hell) but I haven't heard some of the other expressions that I just read in this thread. But basically "heck/hell" as another poster said. I'm going to look it up now... Edited October 12, 2016 by heartlikealion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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