what the Devil
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
used to express surprise or annoyance
Literally: what Satan
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
What the devil were you doing?Cậu đã làm điều gì mờ ám vậy?
Tatoeba sentence #6285755 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “what the Devil” mean?
used to express surprise or annoyance Literally: what Satan
Is “what the Devil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.