deucen.1
/djuːs/, /dʒuːs/, U.S. /d(j)us/ 1. The two at dice or cards.
a. Dice. That side of the die that is marked with two pips or spots; a throw which turns up this side.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > throw > (throw of) specific number
ace?a1300
cinquec1386
sicec1386
sice cinquec1386
treyc1386
quernc1450
ames-acec1460
cater-trey?a1500
twoa1500
cater1519
deuce1519
quatrec1540
trey-acea1556
sice-ace1594
four1599
size-point1648
trey-deuce1680
boxcar1909
trey-point-
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria xxxii. f. 280v Deuce and synke were nat in the olde dyce.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Two dewses at dice.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 148 Two in a garret casting Dews at dice.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 81 Or settling it in Trust to Uses, Out of his Pow'r, on Trays and Deuses.
a1777 S. Foote Nabob (1778) ii. 28 Tray, ace, or two deuces.
b. Cards. That card of any suit which is marked with two spots.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > number card > others
twoa1500
cater1519
single ten1595
ten1595
eight1598
four1599
nine1599
six1599
seven1656
deuce1674
five1674
trey1680
spot1830
four-spot1878
two-spot1885
five-spot1913
ten-spot ladybird-
1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xvi. 135 They..carry about..Treys, Deuces, Aces, &c. in their pockets.
1775 Gough in Archaeologia (1787) 8 154 On the duce of acorns besides the card-maker's arms is [etc.].
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. i. xii. 79 My partner has turned up a deuce—deuce of hearts.
2. Real Tennis and Tennis. [= Italian a due, French à deux de jeu.] A term denoting that the two sides have each gained three points (called 40) in a game (or five games in a set), in which case two successive points (or games) must be gained in order to win the game (or set). (See advantage n. 5.) Also attributive deuce-game n. (see quot. 1897). deuce-set n. a set in which the sides are level, each having won five or more games.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > [noun] > score
deuce1598
advantage1775
mini-break1981
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes A dewce, at tennice play.
1816 Encycl. Perthensis (ed. 2) XXII. 221 Instead of calling it 40 at all, it is called deuce.
1878 J. Marshall Ann. Tennis 134 Scaino [in 1555] then tells his readers that [the scoring is] ‘at two (a due)’ as it is called when the game is reduced or ‘set’ to two strokes to be gained, in order to win it. The term..a due is still preserved in the French form à deux, corrupted in English into deuce.
1882 Daily Tel. 18 July 2 The game ran to 30 all, and then deuce was called twice.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 May 11/1 The concluding game was so close that deuce and advantage were repeatedly called, and the set more than once hung on a single difficult stroke.
1886 Cassell's Family Mag. Oct. 704/2 It also scores back to deuce points and deuce games.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 621/2 Deuce-game, the game won, which makes the score in games level when each side has won more than five.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 14/1 Losing the first game after a deuce set.
1969 New Yorker 14 June 67/1 Games are five-all. It is a so-called deuce set.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > interval > [noun] > tone
whole note1574
second1597
tone1609
whole tone1636
note1762
deuce1829
1829 R. H. Froude Remains (1838) I. 237 I also can acknowledge a discord in a deuce and a seventh.
4. slang. Twopence.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > coin of 2d
twopencec1450
half-groat1451
penny of twopence1477
twopenny piece1607
deuce1699
twopenny1736
demi-groata1763
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew A Duce, two Pence.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 256/2 Give him a deuce..and stall him off.
Compounds
deuce-ace n. two and one (i.e. a throw that turns up deuce with one die and ace with the other); hence, a poor throw, bad luck, mean estate, the lower class (cf. German daus es, at Daus in Grimm).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun]
lowness?c1225
unnobleyc1384
noughtc1400
ignoblenessc1450
innoblessea1470
deuce-ace1481
ignobility1483
dunghill1537
vilityc1550
baseness1552
humility1623
non-class1973
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 45 He was a pylgrym of deux aas [Du. een pellegrym van doys aes].
1596 Gosson in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. IV. 254 Deuse-ace fals still to be their chance.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. ii. 46 You know how much the grosse summe of deus-ace amountes to..Which the base vulgar do call three.
1609 Euerie Woman in her Humor sig. F4v Twere better by thrice deuce-ace in a weeke [etc.].
1658 J. Jones tr. Ovid Invective against Ibis 75 Deuce Ace cannot pay scot and lot, and Sice Sink will not pay: Be it known to all, what payments fall must light on Cater Tray [i.e. the middle classes].
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. ii. 13 I threw deuce ace five times running.
1894 F. S. Ellis Reynard the Fox 336 That which is likened to deuce ace Hath in esteem the lowest place.
deuce-point n. the second point from either end of the board at backgammon.
ΚΠ
1778 T. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved 179 Suppose, that 14 of his Men are placed upon his Adversary's Ace Point, and one Man upon his Adversary's Deuce Point.
Draft additions October 2011
deuce court n. Tennis the receiver's right-hand service court, into which the ball is served when the score of a game is at deuce; cf. advantage court n. at advantage n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1896 R. W. Chambers Maker of Moons 132 ‘Play—it's deuce you know.’ ‘I know,’ I replied, and sent a merciless ball shooting across her deuce court.
1953 N.Y. Times 30 Aug. v. 9/2 The Atlanta youth had scored five times with his service, each time in the deuce court.
2000 D. Diamond Trophy Wife (2001) 12 ‘Out,’ Mary yelled and walked back to the deuce court.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
deucen.2
/djuːs/, /dʒuːs/, U.S. /d(j)us/ colloquial or slang. 1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais v. xix The Dewse take 'em [Fr. Mais quoy diantre!]; (they flatter the Devil here, and smoothifie his Name, quoth Panurge).1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy V. xxviii. 99 There has been..the duce and all to do.1763 G. Colman Deuce is in Him Prol. If our author don't produce Some character that plays the deuce; If there's no frolick, sense, or whim, Retort! and play the dev'l with him!1793 W. Cowper Let. 29 Mar. (1984) IV. 316 If the Critics still grumble, I shall say the very deuce is in them.1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XV lvii. 33 He had that kind of fame Which sometimes plays the deuce with womankind.1830 Countess Granville Let. 9 Nov. (1894) II. 65 An unpopular one..would have been the deuce to pay.1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine ii Love is a bodily infirmity..which breaks out the deuce knows how or why.1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) ii. 9 The child is..Going to the very Deuce.1851 D. G. Mitchell Fresh Gleanings 19 Tearing away at a deuce of a pace.a1860 G. P. Morris Poems (ed. 15) 251 Here'll be the deuce to pay!1861 E. D. Cook Paul Foster's Daughter iii A gipsy, rollicking, deuce-may-care sort of bird.1861 W. M. Thackeray Four Georges iv. 181 To lead him yet farther on the road to the deuce.
a. Bad luck, plague, mischief; in imprecations and exclamations, as a deuce on him!, a deuce of his cane!
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > oaths other than religious or obscene > imprecations
woeOE
dahetc1290
confoundc1330
foul (also shame) fall ——c1330
sorrow on——c1330
in the wanianda1352
wildfirea1375
evil theedomc1386
a pestilence on (also upon)c1390
woe betide you (also him, her, etc.)c1390
maldathaita1400
murrainc1400
out ona1415
in the wild waning worldc1485
vengeance?a1500
in a wanion1549
with a wanion1549
woe worth1553
a plague on——a1566
with a wanion to?c1570
with a wanyand1570
bot1584
maugre1590
poxa1592
death1593
rot1594
rot on1595
cancro1597
pax1604
pize on (also upon)1605
vild1605
peascod1606
cargo1607
confusion1608
perditiona1616
(a) pest upon1632
deuce1651
stap my vitals1697
strike me blind, dumb, lucky (if, but—)1697
stop my vitals1699
split me (or my windpipe)1700
rabbit1701
consume1756
capot me!1760
nick me!1760
weary set1788
rats1816
bad cess to1859
curse1885
hanged1887
buggeration1964
1651 T. Randolph et al. Hey for Honesty i. i. 1/1 But a deuce on him, it does not seem so.
1677 T. Otway Cheats of Scapin iii. i, in Titus & Berenice sig. I3v A dewce on't.
a1679 Earl of Orrery Guzman (1693) ii Who, a duce, are those two fellows?
1709 S. Centlivre Busie Body iii. iii. 32 A Duce of his Cane.
1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth II. 66 A-duce take their Chat.
a1721 M. Prior Thief & Cordelier in Poems What a duce dost thou ayl?
1796 R. Burns Let. 7 July (2003) II. 385 The deuce of the matter is this; when an Excise-man is off duty, his salary is reduced.
b. The personification or spirit of mischief, the devil. Originally, in exclamatory and interjectional phrases; often as a mere expression of impatience or emphasis: as, what the (†what a) deuce?, so who, how, where, when the deuce?, (the) deuce take it!, the deuce is in it! Later, in other phrases parallel to those under devil n.: to play the deuce (with), the deuce and all, the deuce to pay, a deuce of a mess, etc.In the quotations under a (to which the earliest instances belong), ‘plague’ or ‘mischief’ is evidently the sense: cf. the parallel and earlier ‘A mischief (a pox, or a plague) on him!’ ‘Mischief (or plague) take you!’ ‘What a mischief (pox, plague)!’ This meaning is also possible in those under b1: cf. the parallel ‘What the mischief (or the plague)!’ But mischief was personified already before 1700, and ‘the Mischief’ was in the late 18th cent. a frequent euphemism for ‘the devil’; that deuce was already taken in this sense in 1708 is evident from Motteux's use of it as = French diantre, in b2. In the other quotations in the same group, ‘deuce’ plainly takes the place of ‘devil’ in well-known phrases; but such clearly personified uses as ‘the deuce knows’, ‘to go to the deuce’, appear late.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun]
devileOE
Beelzebubc950
the foul ghosteOE
SatanOE
warlockOE
SatanasOE
worsea1200
unwinea1225
wondc1250
quedea1275
pucka1300
serpenta1300
dragon1340
shrew1362
Apollyon1382
the god of this worldc1384
Mahoundc1400
leviathan1412
worsta1425
old enemyc1449
Ruffin1567
dismal1570
Plotcocka1578
the Wicked One1582
goodman1603
Mahu1603
foul thief1609
somebody1609
legiona1616
Lord of Flies1622
walliman1629
shaitan1638
Old Nicka1643
Nick1647
unsel?1675
old gentleman1681
old boy1692
the gentleman in black1693
deuce1694
Black Spy1699
the vicious one1713
worricow1719
Old Roger1725
Lord of the Flies1727
Simmie1728
Old Scratch1734
Old Harry1777
Old Poker1784
Auld Hornie1786
old (auld), ill thief1789
old one1790
little-good1821
Tom Walker1833
bogy1840
diabolarch1845
Old Ned1859
iniquity1899
1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer i. i. 2 The Deuce take me if there were three good things said.
1733 J. Swift Epist. to Lady 11 Deuce is in you, Mr. Dean.
1757 T. Smollett Reprisal i. viii What the deuce are you afraid of?
1776 S. J. Pratt Pupil of Pleasure II. 34 How the duce came she to marry?
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. xii. 230 What the deuce is the matter with the man?
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. iii. 55 How the deuce did you get by the lodge, Joe?
c. As an expression of incredulous surprise; also, as an emphatic negative, as in (the) deuce a bit!, etc. (Cf. plague n., sorrow n., the devil a bit at devil n. Phrases 1e(b), fiend n.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]
whatOE
well, wellOE
avoyc1300
ouc1300
ay1340
lorda1393
ahaa1400
hillaa1400
whannowc1450
wow1513
why?1520
heydaya1529
ah1538
ah me!a1547
fore me!a1547
o me!a1547
what the (also a) goodyear1570
precious coals1576
Lord have mercy (on us)1581
good heavens1588
whau1589
coads1590
ay me!1591
my stars!a1593
Gods me1595
law1598
Godso1600
to go out1600
coads-nigs1608
for mercy!a1616
good stars!1615
mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616
gramercy1617
goodness1623
what next?1662
mon Dieu1665
heugh1668
criminy1681
Lawd1696
the dickens1697
(God, etc.) bless my heart1704
alackaday1705
(for) mercy's sake!1707
my1707
deuce1710
gracious1712
goodly and gracious1713
my word1722
my stars and garters!1758
lawka1774
losha1779
Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784
great guns!1795
mein Gott1795
Dear me!1805
fancy1813
well, I'm sure!1815
massy1817
Dear, dear!1818
to get off1818
laws1824
Mamma mia1824
by crikey1826
wisha1826
alleleu1829
crackey1830
Madonna mia1830
indeed1834
to go on1835
snakes1839
Jerusalem1840
sapristi1840
oh my days1841
tear and ages1841
what (why, etc.) in time?1844
sakes alive!1846
gee willikers1847
to get away1847
well, to be sure!1847
gee1851
Great Scott1852
holy mackerel!1855
doggone1857
lawsy1868
my wig(s)!1871
gee whiz1872
crimes1874
yoicks1881
Christmas1882
hully gee1895
'ullo1895
my hat!1899
good (also great) grief!1900
strike me pink!1902
oo-er1909
what do you know?1909
cripes1910
coo1911
zowiec1913
can you tie that?1918
hot diggety1924
yeow1924
ziggety1924
stone (or stiffen) the crows1930
hullo1931
tiens1932
whammo1932
po po po1936
how about that?1939
hallo1942
brother1945
tie that!1948
surprise1953
wowee1963
yikes1971
never1974
to sod off1976
whee1978
mercy1986
yipes1989
1710–11 J. Swift Lett. (1767) III. 89 We were to dine at Mr. Harley's alone, about some business of importance..but the deuce a bit, the company staid, and more came.
1712 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 22 Mar. (1948) II. 519 The D—— he is! marryed to that Vengence!
1728 C. Cibber Vanbrugh's Provok'd Husband i. i. 12 Man. He has carried his Election...L. Town. The Duce! what! for—for—.
a1777 S. Foote Cozeners (1778) ii. 48 Me? ha, ha, ha! the deuce a bit.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 26 At Florence and Milan, the deuce a Neapolitan could he find.
1805 H. Lee Canterbury Tales V. 56 The old lady glanced at her..but deuce a bit did she desire her to sit down.
1831 Examiner 354/1 ‘Lord Eldon was not one of those’..The deuce he's not!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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