I’ve read this in older books, and I get the impression that it means “not at all”, but the construction doesn’t make sense. Am I right as to the meaning? And how should I interpret the form?
Here’s one usage:
And that’s the reason why, if a man speaks his mind too freely against the gospel according to Saint Mat Thew, the Devil-a-bit does Mat care about it.
Best Answer
It seems that this is a slang saying from Dublin, Ireland. It means "nothing at all". You may read the whole thread for the relevant discussion.
Eric Partridge has "devil a bit" in his Dictionary of Slang and says: