deviltry
(ˈdɛv(ə)ltrɪ)
[Corruption of devilry: perh. after such words as harlotry, gallantry, etc.]
= devilry. (Dial. Eng. and U.S.)
| 1788 Massachusetts Spy 28 Aug. (Th.), His shoes were made of the leather of hypocrisy, tanned with the bark of presumption, and curried in the shop of deviltry. a 1825 in Forby Voc. E. Anglia. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan III. 257 All sorts of bloated she things attracted by the sharp odour of his deviltry. 1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie II. i. 3 The imps will lie for hours..brooding their deviltries. 1863 Reade Hard Cash liii, Dr. Sampson rushed in furious. ‘There is some deviltry afloat.’ 1876 Holland Sev. Oaks xxiii. 324 What deviltry there is in it, I don't know. 1893 Cath. News 5 Aug. 4/6 Imposture combined with a good deal of deviltry. |