Jekyll and Hyde
/ˌdʒɛk(ə)l ən(d) ˈhʌɪd/noun [usually as modifier]
Used in reference to a person or thing that alternately displays two different sides to their character or nature: former colleagues said he was a Jekyll and Hyde character a real Jekyll and Hyde side who can be brilliant one week and awful the next he was a Jekyll and Hyde—a smart, ambitious student who had been accepted into West Point but had a dark side...
- The club has displayed a Jekyll and Hyde personality.
- The Gazette described us a Jekyll and Hyde side and that has summed us up exactly so far this season.
- In conversation, it's surprising how open he appears to be; until you realise that you've spent an evening with a Jekyll and Hyde character, and you're no closer to understanding what makes him tick.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Robert Louis Stevenson's story The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (see Jekyll, Dr).