| 释义 |
devil's books
An appellation of Playing Cards (also called by Swift Pluto's books). Cf. devil's picture(d)-books s.v. devil n. 25 b.
1729Swift Intelligencer No. 4 (ed. 2) 43 (Farmer) Cards are the devil's own invention, for which reason, time out of mind, they are and have been called the devil's books. [1730― Death & Daphne 80 For cards, we know, are Pluto's books.] 1738― Polite Convers. iii. 194 Damn your Cards, said he, they are the Devils Books. 1801Sporting Mag. XVII. 144 They all voluntarily declared they would never more touch the Devil's Books on the Lord's Day. 1861Thackeray Four Georges iv. (1876) 119 What hours, what nights, what health did he waste over the devil's books! |