Old Nick
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Old Nick
First recorded in 1660–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Zeb Williams, owner of Old Nick Williams, said it exemplifies the quality people in the local liquor business.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 22, 2020
Their best answer to date is the other “goblin metal” closely associated with cobalt, nickel, whose name comes from a German spirit closely related to Old Nick.
From Economist ● Mar. 22, 2018
His deputy called him diabolus bibliothecae, “the devil of the library”; others referred to him simply as Old Nick.
From The New Yorker ● May 1, 2017
What pushes her over the limit is a nasty episode with Old Nick, coupled with the realisation that Jack has reached an age at which he is a plausible ally in an escape.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 6, 2010
Sometimes she is indignant, sometimes she is plaintive; but, anyhow, she is so natural that she would deceive Old Nick himself.
From Dorothy's Double Volume I (of 3) by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
