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deuces

 - 6 dictionary results

deuce

1  [doos, dyoos]
–noun
1. Cards. a card having two pips; a two, or two-spot.
2. Dice.
a. the face of a die having two pips.
b. a cast or point of two.
3. Tennis. a situation, as a score of 40–40 in a game or 5–5 in a match, in which a player must score two successive points to win the game or two successive games to win the set.
4. Slang.
a. a two-dollar bill.
b. the sum of two dollars.
–adjective
5. (esp. in games, sports, and gambling) two.
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Origin:
1425–75; late ME deus < AF, MF: two < L duōs (masc. acc. of duo)

deuce

2  [doos, dyoos]
–noun
devil; dickens (used as a mild oath): Where the deuce did they hide it?
Origin:
1645–55; appar. to be identified with deuce 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To deuces
deuce 1   (dōōs, dyōōs)   
n.  

    1. A playing card having two spots or the side of a die bearing two pips.

    2. A cast of dice totaling two.

  2. A tied score in tennis in which each player or side has 40 points, or 5 or more games, and one player or side must win 2 successive points to win the game, or 2 successive games to win the set.

tr.v.   deuced, deuc·ing, deuc·es
To make the score of (a tennis game or set) deuce.

[Middle English deus, from Old French, two, from Latin duōs, masculine accusative of duo; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]
deuce 2   (dōōs, dyōōs)   
n.  

  1. The devil: "Love is a bodily infirmity . . . which breaks out the deuce knows how or why" (Thackeray).

  2. An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: had a deuce of a time getting out of town; a deuce of a family row.

  3. A severe reprimand or expression of anger: got the deuce for being late.

  4. Used as an intensive: What the deuce were they thinking of?


[Probably from Low German duus, a throw of two in dice games, bad luck, ultimately from Latin duo, two; see deuce1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
deuce [dus]

  1. n.
    the devil. (Always with the.) : I'll knock the deuce out of you if you come around here again.
  2. n.
    the two in playing cards. : If I could only get a deuce.
  3. n.
    two dollars. : Can you loan me a deuce till payday?
  4. n.
    a two-year prison sentence. (Underworld.) : The DA made sure that Mooshoo got more than a deuce.
  5. n.
    a table for two. : Give the next couple the deuce over in the corner.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

deuce 
c.1475, "a roll of 2 in dice," from M.Fr. deus, from L. duos (nom. duo) "two." Became a mild oath by 1710, about 50 years after it was first attested in the sense of "bad luck, the devil, etc.," perhaps because two was the lowest score, and probably by similarity to L. deus and related words meaning "god." Low Ger. had der daus! in same sense 16c., which probably influenced the Eng. form. Deuce coup is 1940s hot-rodder slang for "souped up two-door car," especially a 1932 Ford.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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