| 单词 | devil |
| 释义 | devil (devəl ) Word forms: devils 1. proper noun B2 In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Devil is the most powerful evil spirit. 2. countable noun B2 A devil is an evil spirit. ...the idea of angels with wings and devils with horns and hoofs. Synonyms: evil spirit, demon, fiend, ghoul 3. countable noun You can use devil to emphasize the way you feel about someone. For example, if you call someone a poor devil, you are saying that you feel sorry for them. You can call someone you are fond of but who sometimes annoys or irritates you an old devil or a little devil. [informal, feelings] I felt sorry for Blake, poor devil. Manfred, you're a suspicious old devil. Susie, you're a determined little devil. Synonyms: person, individual, soul, creature 4. countable noun If you refer to someone as a devil, you mean that they do not behave very well but you like them and are not angry with them. [informal] 'I think he was a bit of a devil,' Constance said. 5. a devil of a phrase [v-link PHR n] Devil can be used to emphasize what you think about someone or something. For example, if you say that someone is a devil of a nuisance, you mean that they are very annoying. If you say that something is a devil of a problem, you mean that it is a very difficult problem. [emphasis] He was always a devil of a nuisance. It's a devil of a tricky problem,isn't it? 6. better the devil you know phrase If you say better the devil you know or better the devil you know than the devil you don't know, you mean that you would prefer to have contact with or do business with a person you already know, even though you don't like them, than with a person you don't know. [mainly British] 7. have the devil's own job/a devil of a job phrase [VERB inflects, PHRASE to-infinitive, PHRASE -ing] If you say that you had the devil's own job to do something or that you had a devil of a job doing something, you are emphasizing that it was difficult to do it. [British, informal, emphasis] We had the devil's own job to persuade him to take part. 8. like the devil phrase If you say that someone does something like the devil, you are emphasizing that they put a lot of effort into it. If you say that someone drives like the devil, you are emphasizing that they drive very fast. [emphasis] He drives himself on, working like the devil from seven in the morning until midnight. He must have driven like the devil. 9. the devil take the hindmost phrase You can say the devil take the hindmost to describe or comment on a situation you disapprove of because people do only what is best for themselves without thinking about other people. [disapproval] Every one for himself and the devil take the hindmost. 10. between the devil and the deep blue sea phrase If you say that you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you mean that you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action. 11. sell your soul to the devil phrase [VERB inflects] If you say that someone has sold their soul to the devil, you mean that you disapprove of them because they have done something that you think is not right in order to get what they want. [disapproval] 12. talk/speak of the devil phrase People say speak of the devil, or in British English talk of the devil, if someone they have just been talking about appears unexpectedly. Well, talk of the devil! 13. what/how/why the devil phrase When you want to emphasize how annoyed or surprised you are, you can use an expression such as what the devil, how the devil, or why the devil. [informal, emphasis] 'What the devil's the matter?' Tim wondered how the devil they had managed it. 'Why the devil did you do that?' Quotations: If the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likenessThe Brothers Karamazov How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Bible: Isaiah Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour Bible: I Peter The serpent subtlest beast of all the field, Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes And hairy mane terrificParadise Lost The devil's most devilish when respectableAurora Leigh An apology for the Devil; It must be remembered that we have only heard one side of the case. God has written all the books Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know The devil looks after his own He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon Talk of the devil, and he shall appear Idioms: speak of the devil or talk of the devil said when someone you have just been talking about arrives unexpectedly `Speak of the devil,' she greeted Tom, smiling. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers have a devil of a job or have the devil's own job to manage to do something, but only after a lot of difficulty We got there just in time, but we had a devil of a job finding her in that place. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers better the devil you know [mainly British] said to mean that it is better to deal with someone you already know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with someone that you know nothing about, because they may be even worse It is becoming clearer to them that he is no angel; but better the devil you know. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers be between the devil and the deep blue sea [mainly British] to be in a difficult situation where the two possible courses of action or choices that you can take are equally bad We are between the devil and the deep blue sea: if we pay our rent, we won't have any money for food. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Translations: Chinese: 魔鬼 Japanese: 悪魔 |
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