devil of a

Idioms  

1. Also,; hell of a. Infernally annoying or difficult, as in This is a devil of an assembly job, or She had one devil of a time getting through the traffic, or I had a hell of a morning sitting in that doctor's office. The first expression dates from the mid-1700s. The variant is a couple of decades newer and its precise meaning depends on the context. For example, We had a hell of a time getting here invariably means we had a very difficult or annoying time, but He is one hell of a driver could mean that he is either very good or very bad (see hell of a, def. 2).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

devil of a

Adam Devine has had a devil of a time the last few years with doctors trying to figure out why some of his muscles have been going into almost-paralytic spasms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

"It's been a devil of a job," he claims, "to get people in the trust to simply read the report, even the summary."

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025

Dobbs had a devil of a time finding a rhythm.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2023

In the final, against the hard Saint Mary’s, he went for a devil of a stat line: six rebounds, six assists, six steals, with 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2017

“And I’m sorry I did, you stinking devil of a villain.”

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke