FromMiddle Englishdewes(“two”), fromAnglo-Norman, fromOld Frenchdeus, fromLatinduo. The word was used by Ford Motor Co. in 1932 to describe atwo-seater car model.
deuce (pluraldeuces)
- (card games) A card with twopips, one of four in a standarddeck ofplaying cards.
- Synonym:two
1948 January 1, “Deck of Cards” (track 20), inFamous Country Music Makers[1], performed byTex Ritter:You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. Thedeuce 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.
- (dice games) A side of adie with two spots.
- (dice games) Acast of dice totalling two.
- The numbertwo.
- (Canada,US, slang) Apiece ofexcrement;number two.
- (Canada, slang) A two-year prison sentence.
1988 December 25, Eric Peterson, “Personal advertisement”, inGay Community News, volume16, number24, page14:Bisexual male, 28, doing adeuce in a segregated housing unit due to positive HIV test result, seeks correspondence from both genders.
- A hand gesture consisting of a raised index and middle finger, apeace sign.
- (tennis, table tennis, volleyball) Atied game where either player can win by scoring twoconsecutive points.
- (baseball) Acurveball.
- A1932 Ford.
1973 January 5, “Blinded by the Light” (track 1), inGreetings from Asbury Park, N.J., performed byBruce Springsteen:And she was blinded by the light/Oh, cut loose like adeuce, another runner in the night.
1978, Joe Mayall, “Driving Impression: ReproductionDeuce Hiboy”, inRod Action, page26:
2012, Pat Ganahl,Lost Hot Rods II: More Remarkable Stories of How They Were Found, page62:It belonged to “the 1932 guy,” who had four or fiveDeuces sitting in his yard.
- (in theplural) Two-barrel (twinchoke)carburetors(in the phrasethree deuces: an arrangement on a commonintake manifold).
- (restaurants, slang) Atable seatingtwodiners.
- (slang, archaic) Atwopencecoin.
2010, James Lambie,The Story of Your Life, page139:It was a shame of the chalk-takers to take their fee without even scoring one little mark; but chalk-takers are inexorable and must be paid their twopence. 'Down with yourdeuces', was the demand after each pair of birds had competed.
- (euphemistic, slang)douche
side of a dice with two spots
cast of dice totalling two
tennis: tie, both players able to win by scoring two additional points
Translations to be checked
CompareLate Latindusius(“phantom, specter”);Scottish Gaelictaibhs,taibhse(“apparition, ghost”); or fromOld Frenchdeus(“God”), fromLatindeus (comparedeity).
deuce (pluraldeuces)
- (epithet) TheDevil,used in exclamations of confusion or anger.
- Alternative form:Deuce
1840, William Makepeace Thackeray,Catherine:Love is a bodily infirmity[…] which breaks out thedeuce knows how or why
1843, Charles Dickens,A Christmas Carol:To sit, staring at those fixed glazed eyes, in silence for a moment, would play, Scrooge felt, the verydeuce with him.
1886 October –1887 January,H[enry] Rider Haggard,She: A History of Adventure, London:Longmans, Green, and Co., published1887,→OCLC:"Why, Job, you old son of a gun, where thedeuce have we got to now - eh?"
1938,Norman Lindsay,Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.:Ure Smith, published1962,→OCLC, page65:Still bemused by the inexplicable apparition of Podson on that spot, Bradly growled, "How thedooce did you get here?"
- Synonym ofdevil(“something awkward or difficult”).
We had adeuce of a time getting here.
Devil, used in exclamations of confusion or anger
