devil of a

Idioms

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).

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.

Bacon is having a devil of a good time playing him.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2025

"What happened was that in June 2016 the then-Prime Minister David Cameron evaporated, whistling, and then we had a devil of a job."

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2024

Dobbs had a devil of a time finding a rhythm.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2023

“We had a devil of a time trying to get a handle on it,” said Basil Merenda, a deputy secretary for Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry, the parent agency of the disability determination office.

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2022

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

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023