devil dodger

English

Alternative forms

• devil-dodger

Noun

devil dodger (plural devil dodgers)

1. (informal) A clergyman, especially a military chaplain.
   • 1914, G. K. Chesterton, The Donnington Affair‎^[1]:

     Usually I don't trust devil dodgers — not much. But you've got a decent mug on you, and I'm going to trust you.

   • 2013, Ian Hislop, Nick Newman, The Wipers Times, BBC:

     You damned devil dodgers are going to undermine the whole war!

2. (informal, obsolete) A person who sometimes attends church and sometimes the Dissenter's meetinghouse.

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary