Plural of 'dickens,' an archaic or dialectal term meaning the devil or a mischievous spirit; used in mild exclamations like 'what the dickens!'
The singular 'dickens' likely derives from 'Dick' as a euphemistic substitute for 'devil,' similar to how 'deuce' is used. Its origins are unclear, but it appears in English literature by the 16th century as a mild oath.
The phrase 'what the dickens!' is a clever euphemism—people said it to avoid saying 'what the devil!' in church or polite company, so it became a Victorian favorite!
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