play the deuce with
Synonym of play the devil with.
deuce
UK /djuːs/ US /dus/
noun 7name 1
Collocations
4ADJ.
loose
VERB + DEUCE
breaks, doing, drop, felt, go, gotta, gun, like
DEUCE + NOUN
runner
PREP.
in, out, with
Definitions
noun
1
A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards.
You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
2
A side of a die with two spots.
3
A cast of dice totalling two.
4
The number two.
5
The number two.
Bisexual male, 28, doing a deuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders.
noun
1
The Devil, used in exclamations of confusion or anger.
Love is a bodily infirmity […] which breaks out the deuce knows how or why
To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him.
2
Synonym of devil (“something awkward or difficult”).
We had a deuce of a time getting here.
name
1
Alternative letter-case form of deuce (“the Devil”).
“I should not allow any one to inconvenience me, if I could hinder it—walk in!” The “walk in,” was uttered with closed teeth and expressed the sentiment, “Go to the Deuce!”
“How in the Deuce’s name can they set up correctly from copy like that?” demanded he, in a fury.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And when I see the trey I think
Wiktionary02
Bisexual male, 28, doing a deuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders.
Wiktionary03
And she was blinded by the light/Oh, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night.
Wiktionary04
Love is a bodily infirmity […] which breaks out the deuce knows how or why
Wiktionary05
To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the very deuce with him.
Wiktionary06
"Why, Job, you old son of a gun, where the deuce have we got to now - eh?"
WiktionaryUsage Notes
i Register
In some senses, deuce is marked as slang, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.
Your note
not saved0 chars