Jekyll and Hyde

[jek-uhl, jee-kuhl]

noun

1. a person marked by dual personality, one aspect of which is good and the other bad.

Jekyll and Hyde

/ ˈdʒɛkəl, haɪd /

noun

1. 1. a person with two distinct personalities, one good, the other evil

   2. ( as modifier )

      a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jekyll and Hyde¹

After the protagonist of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jekyll and Hyde¹

C19: after the principal character of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)

Idioms and Phrases

A personality alternating between good and evil behavior, as in You never know whether Bob will be a Jekyll or a Hyde. This expression comes from Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). Also see lead a double life.

Example Sentences

He was a wreck, and the drink and drugs gave him a Jekyll and Hyde personality.

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After watching Rangers' Jekyll and Hyde performances as a pundit and club ambassador all season, Ferguson has now witnessed them from pitchside.

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They make Jekyll and Hyde look uncomplicated; at times pure thoroughbreds, the Frankel of rugby and, at other times, self-destructive, the Devon Loch of the age.

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Over its long history, hormone replacement therapy for women in menopause has been the Jekyll and Hyde of medications.

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Brentford are like Jekyll and Hyde, depending on where you play them.

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