| 释义 |
deviln. Forms: α. early Old English ðioful (Mercian, nominative plural, probably transmission error), Old English deaful (Mercian), Old English defol- (in compounds and derivatives), Old English deoblu (plural, rare), Old English deofal (rare), Old English deofflum (dative plural, rare), Old English deofl (rare), Old English deofle- (in compounds), Old English deoflil (transmission error), Old English deofum (dative plural, transmission error), Old English deofun (dative plural, transmission error), Old English deofyl- (in compounds), Old English deouol- (in compounds and derivatives), Old English diabl- (Northumbrian, inflected form), Old English diafol (Northumbrian), Old English diaful (Northumbrian), Old English diawul (Northumbrian), Old English diobl- (non-West Saxon, inflected form), Old English diobol (non-West Saxon), Old English diobul, Old English diofal (rare), Old English diofel (rare), Old English diofolle (dative, perhaps transmission error), Old English dioful, Old English diouel- (in compounds), Old English diowbl- (Northumbrian, inflected form), Old English diowel (Northumbrian), Old English diowol (Northumbrian), Old English diowul (Northumbrian), Old English diubl- (Northumbrian, inflected form), Old English diubol (Northumbrian), Old English diubul (Northumbrian), Old English diuol (Northumbrian), Old English diuul (Northumbrian), Old English diwbl- (Northumbrian, inflected form), Old English dyofel- (in compounds), Old English dyofl- (inflected form, rare), Old English–early Middle English deofel, Old English–early Middle English deofl- (inflected form), Old English–early Middle English deofol, Old English–early Middle English deoful, Old English (in compounds and derivatives)–early Middle English (inflected form) diofl-, Old English–early Middle English diofol, Old English (rare)–Middle English deouel, late Old English diuflu (nominative plural), late Old English douel- (in compounds), late Old English–early Middle English dofl- (inflected form), early Middle English defell ( Ormulum), early Middle English defl- (inflected form), early Middle English deofell ( Ormulum), early Middle English deoffl- ( Ormulum, inflected form), early Middle English deoul- (inflected form), early Middle English deul- (inflected form), early Middle English deuul- (inflected form), early Middle English diefl- (inflected form), early Middle English douel, early Middle English doul- (inflected form), early Middle English dufel, Middle English deeuele, Middle English deuele, Middle English deuell, Middle English deueyl, Middle English devele, Middle English develle, Middle English deville, Middle English devoll, Middle English devull, Middle English dewell, Middle English dewelle, Middle English dewill, Middle English dewyl, Middle English dewyll, Middle English dewylle, Middle English deyuel, Middle English dieuel, Middle English dieul- (south-east midlands, inflected form), Middle English dyeuel (south-eastern), Middle English dyeul- (south-eastern, inflected form), Middle English dyvel, Middle English–1500s deuel, Middle English–1500s deuyl, Middle English–1500s deuyll, Middle English–1500s devell, Middle English–1500s devill, Middle English–1500s devyl, Middle English–1500s devylle, Middle English–1500s dyuel, Middle English–1500s dyuell, Middle English–1600s deuil, Middle English–1600s deuill, Middle English–1600s devel, Middle English–1600s devyll, Middle English–1600s diuel, Middle English–1600s divell, Middle English–1600s dyvell, Middle English– devil, late Middle English devles (plural), 1500s devyle, 1500s dyuyl, 1500s dyuyll, 1500s dyvll, 1500s dyvyll, 1500s dyvylle, 1500s–1600s diuell, 1500s–1600s diuil, 1500s–1600s diuill, 1500s–1600s divel, 1500s–1600s divill, 1900s– debbil (Australian), 1900s– debil (Australian); English regional (chiefly northern) 1700s–1800s divul, 1800s deeavel, 1800s deeavle, 1800s deeval, 1800s deevil, 1800s devvul (Isle of Wight), 1800s divel, 1800s divil (northern and north midlands), 1800s divl (Shropshire), 1800s divval, 1800s divvel, 1800s divvil, 1800s doovel (Hampshire), 1900s devvle, 1900s divvle, 1900s– debbel (Cornwall), 1900s– deev'l (Hertfordshire), 1900s– dowel (Devon); U.S. regional 1700s divel, 1800s–1900s debble (south-eastern (in African-American usage)), 1800s– debbil (south-eastern (in African-American usage)), 1800s– divil, 1900s debil (south-eastern (in African-American usage)), 1900s divle; Scottish pre-1700 deavell, pre-1700 deivell, pre-1700 deuel, pre-1700 deuil, pre-1700 deuill, pre-1700 deuyl, pre-1700 deuyll, pre-1700 devel, pre-1700 devell, pre-1700 devile, pre-1700 devill, pre-1700 devyll, pre-1700 dewell, pre-1700 dewil, pre-1700 dewill, pre-1700 dewyl, pre-1700 dewyll, pre-1700 diuel, pre-1700 diuill, pre-1700 divell, pre-1700 divill, pre-1700 diwell, pre-1700 duvill, pre-1700 dyvill, pre-1700 1700s– devil, pre-1700 1700s– divil, 1700s tevil, 1700s– deevil, 1800s divvel, 1800s duvvel, 1900s– duvvle; Irish English 1700s 1800s deevil, 1800s douol, 1800s– divil; N.E.D. (1895) also records the forms early Middle English diefel, Middle English dyevel. β. Old English diol (Northumbrian), Old English dioul (Northumbrian), Old English diowl (Northumbrian), Old English diul (Northumbrian), Old English diwl (Northumbrian), Old English ðiowl (Northumbrian, probably transmission error), Old English ðiul (Northumbrian, probably transmission error), Middle English deol, Middle English dwill (northern), Middle English dwyll (northern), Middle English–1500s dewle, late Middle English deul, late Middle English deule, late Middle English deull, 1500s dulle, 1500s dylle, 1500s (1600s in representations of Scottish speech) dule, 1600s deole (in representations of Irish English); English regional 1700s–1800s doul (Devon), 1700s– dule (northern), 1800s dewl (Derbyshire), 1800s– dowl (south-western); N.E.D. (1895) also records a form late Middle English dwylle. γ. Middle English del, Middle English dele (north-west midlands), Middle English deyle (northern), 1600s de'el, 1600s de'il, 1600s de'l, 1600s de'll, 1600s deyil; English regional (northern) 1700s–1800s de'il, 1800s deel, 1800s deil; U.S. regional 1800s–1900s deal, 1900s deil; Scottish pre-1700 deill, pre-1700 dele, pre-1700 1700s– deil, pre-1700 1700s– diel, 1700s de'el, 1700s dee'l, 1700s deel, 1700s– de'il, 1800s die'l; Irish English (northern) 1800s– deil. δ. Middle English delue, Middle English deluel, Middle English delve, 1500s dulvyll, 1500s duyllyll. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate (or alternatively, borrowed in parallel) with Old Frisian diūvel , diōvel (West Frisian divel ), Old Dutch diuvel , (in inflected forms also) diobol- (Middle Dutch duvel , Dutch duivel ), Old Saxon diuval (Middle Low German, Low German düvel ), Old High German tiuval , tiufal , diuval , diufal (Middle High German tiuvel , German Teufel ), ultimately < Hellenistic Greek διάβολος (in Jewish and Christian use) the Devil, Satan (Septuagint, New Testament), specific use of ancient Greek διάβολος accuser, slanderer, use as noun of διάβολος backbiting ( < δια- dia- prefix1 + -βολος (see peribolos n.), after διαβάλλειν to slander, lit. ‘to throw across’), probably via post-classical Latin diabolus (Vulgate).Transmission history. Hellenistic Greek διάβολος in its specific Judaeo-Christian use was borrowed into post-classical Latin as diabolus and (independently) into Gothic as diabaulus , diabulus . The primary route of transmission into West Germanic languages was probably borrowing from post-classical Latin diabolus , although the word forms present some difficulties, for which a variety of different explanations have been proposed. Compare also (apparently < a West Germanic language, probably Old Saxon) Old Icelandic djǫfull (Icelandic djöfull ), Old Swedish, Swedish djävul , Old Danish diæffuel (Danish djævel ), and (apparently later reborrowed < Middle Low German) Old Swedish diwell , dyfwll , etc. (Swedish regional divel , dyvil , etc.), Danish dyvel . Related forms in other languages. Compare ( < Latin) Anglo-Norman dieble , deble , etc., Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French diable , deable , dyable (French diable ) (the name of) the adversary of God (9th cent. as diaule ), malignant spirit or demon, evil human being (both late 12th cent.), Old Occitan diable , Catalan diable (12th cent.), Spanish diablo (12th cent.), Portuguese diabo (13th cent.), Italian diavolo (13th cent.), and also Early Irish díabul (Irish diabhal ), Welsh diawl (both 13th cent.). Compare further (directly < Greek) Old Church Slavonic dijavolŭ , dĭjavolŭ . Inflection history. Although the word is masculine in Greek and Latin, variation of gender is attested in Old English. In the singular the word chiefly inflects as a strong masculine, sometimes as a strong neuter, in the plural chiefly as a strong neuter, but sometimes as a strong masculine (chiefly in Northumbrian). Perhaps compare Old High German neuter plural diufilir in Otfrid, although otherwise strong masculine forms predominate in Old High German. Endingless plurals are attested in Middle English and probably show the reflex of Old English neuter plurals such as dēoflu , dēofol . In later Old English, weak forms are occasionally attested, chiefly as late Old English plural forms; with these compare also the Middle English plurals in -en , which are occasionally found up to the end of the 15th cent. Form history. Old English forms of the word occasionally show the (continuing) influence of post-classical Latin diabolus; compare especially Northumbrian forms such as dīafol , dīabl- (see α. forms) and probably also all spellings with medial -b- , such as dīobul , dīobol . The apparent substitution of a semivowel (spelt w or u ) in many of the Northumbrian forms, such as dīowol , diuol , is unexplained, although influence from a Celtic language has been suggested (compare Welsh diawl , cited above). The formal variation in Northumbrian is considerable, some spellings are difficult to interpret, and there are a number of abbreviated forms that cannot be expanded with certainty. Forms which appear monosyllabic have been assigned to the β. forms (see discussion below). Many of the later developments reflect shortening of the diphthong of the first syllable (Old English (West Saxon) ēo < earlier īo ), originally in inflected forms (either trisyllabic or disyllabic, with syncope of the medial vowel) in late Old English and Middle English. The apparently monosyllabic β. forms are probably of more than one origin, although it is difficult to determine how they relate to each other. In particular, it is unclear whether the Northumbrian Old English forms assigned to the β. forms show any continuity with later forms. The Middle English β. forms apparently partly reflect vocalization of medial -v- . Some may have developed from inflected forms with regular syncope of the type recorded at the α. forms (compare e.g. the early Middle English plural and genitive singular form deules , originally corresponding to the nominative deuel at α. forms, but perhaps also leading to the later nominative deule at β. forms). In some cases the spelling is difficult to interpret, and it is unclear whether these forms really are monosyllabic, e.g. the final letter may reflect a syllabic -l , or w (appearing to be a semivowel) may be a graphic variant of uu (reflecting a consonant followed by a vowel). The γ. forms are apparently the result of loss of medial v (before syllables ending in l or r ), chiefly in north midland and northern Middle English and in Older Scots. The δ. forms show metathesis of v and l in such forms; in the form deluel apparently with subsequent addition of -el on the model of the α. forms. Formerly sometimes (especially in oaths) written with dashes or points representing suppressed letters. Judaeo-Christian uses. With reference to the adversary of the Judaeo-Christian God (see sense 1), Hellenistic Greek ὁ διάβολος (with definite article) is used in the Septuagint to translate biblical Hebrew ha-śaṭan , lit. ‘the adversary’ ( < ha- the + śaṭan Satan n.); early Latin versions of these texts (Vetus Latina) usually translate this as diabolus , whereas the Old Testament of the Vulgate uses Satan in most passages (except originally in Psalm 108:6, as it incorporates the Gallican Psalter based on the Septuagint; compare quot. a1382 at sense 1). The Greek New Testament uses both ὁ διάβολος and ὁ Σατανᾶς ( < Hebrew: see Satanas n.) to denote the adversary of God. (Hellenistic Greek διάβολος also occasionally appears in biblical contexts in its more literal sense ‘accuser, slanderer’ (Septuagint: Esther; New Testament: Timothy, Titus).) With uses with reference to malignant spirits more generally (see sense 2) compare demon n. and the discussion at that entry. In sense 2b translating classical Latin daemonium and its etymon ancient Greek δαιμόνιον ; with sense 2c compare also Hebrew śā'īr satyr (see further discussion at demon n.). In the Greek New Testament and in the Vulgate, the two words for Satan are kept clearly separate from those used for other malignant supernatural beings, but in more general use in Latin and (hence) in the European vernaculars the distinction is increasingly blurred over time, typically with words corresponding to devil expanding in sense to include such beings (often interpreted as emissaries of Satan: see sense 2) and subsequently also the gods of other religions (see sense 3). Other specific senses. With poor devil (see sense 4b) compare similar expressions in other languages, e.g. French pauvre diable (1611 in Cotgrave), Dutch arme duivel (1617), German armer Teufel (a1576 or earlier). With use with reference to the swift (see sense 6d) compare earlier deviling n. 3a and devilet n. 2, and also devil bird n. 4 and the discussion at that entry. With predicative use with reference to a bad thing or situation (see sense 7) compare French c'est le diable (1694 in le diable est que — ; 1698 in c'est bien le diable ). With use with reference to spicy food (see sense 10) compare earlier devilment n. 2 and also devil v. 2. With use with reference to a desert sand-spout (see sense 12) compare Urdu deo-bād whirlwind, lit. ‘devil-wind’ and (especially with quot. 1814) Tamil pacācam , pacācu ( < Sanskrit piśāca demon: see pisaca n. and compare pishachi n.). (The synonym bugula given in quot. 1813 is < Hindi bagūlā whirlwind, which does not appear to be related to a word for a demon.) N.E.D. (1895) included among its ‘Special combinations’ an adjective devil-dare , equated to daredevil adj., and supported by a single quotation:1857 tr. A. Dumas Three Musketeers ii. 14/2 His soldiers formed a devil-dare legion.However, no English translation of The Three Musketeers dating from 1857 has been traced, and no other uses of an adjective devil-dare have been found. the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun] eOE (Mercian) (1965) xiii. 3 Quem diabolus deceperat, hostis humani generis : ðone dioful biswac fiond mennesces cynnes. OE Ælfric Interrogationes Sigewulfi in Genesin (Corpus Cambr. 162) iv, in (1884) 7 4 Se heaengel þe nu is heatol deofol him sylf his synne afunde, & se man wæs beswicen. OE (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 5 Þa gebrohte se Deofol [c1200 Hatton deofel] hine on þa halgan ceastre & asette hine ofer þæs temples heahnesse. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 35 Þa wurhliche weden þe þe dieuel binom ure forme fader adam. ?c1250 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 195 in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 293 Dieð com in þis middenerd þurh þe ealde deofles onde. c1300 St. Bartholomew (Laud) 174 in C. Horstmann (1887) 372 And þe Aungel heom scheuwede al a-brod þene deuel ase huy stude, Þe fourme of a grislich man þat al for-broide were And swarttore þane eueri ani blouȝman..Fuyrie speldene al stinkende out of is mouth he blaste And fuyr of brumston at his nose. c1300 St. Nicholas (Laud) 165 in C. Horstmann (1887) 245 In fourme of a fair womman þe deuel cam heom to. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms cviii. 6 Sett vp on hym a synere; and the deuell stonde at his riȝt side [L. diabolus]. a1400 Bk. to Mother (Egerton) in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell (1845) I. 41 The devil..stirith him to pappe and pampe her fleische..with her hornes, lockis, garlondis of gold and of riche perlis..rydelid gownes and rokettis, colers, lacis, jackes, pattokis. ?c1450 (1891) l. 7170 Oft to gydir þai did euill, And gaf occasioun to þe deuill. 1532 J. Fisher ii. sig. F.4v To forsake the deuyll & all his workes. 1563 W. Fulke ii. f. 10v There was newes come to London, that the Deuill..was seene flyinge ouer the Temmes. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach i. f. 46v Where a man must deale with the Deuil. 1604 King James VI & I sig. B2 Why do we not denie God and adore the Deuill, as they doe? a1652 R. Brome (1657) ii. iii. sig. D1/2 He looks So damnably as if the Divel were at my elbow. a1680 J. Glanvill (1681) ii. 292 Declares that the Devil in the shape of a black man lay with her in the Bed..that his Feet were cloven. 1738 J. Swift 97 That would have been a Match of the Devil's making. 1762 T. Smollett II. xvi. 85 Believing he was the devil in propria persona. 1817 1 Feb. 150 I defy the Attorney General, and even the Devil himself, to produce from my writings any one essay, which is not written in the spirit of peace. 1846 R. C. Trench v. 155 All gathers up in a person, in the devil, who has most truly a kingdom, as God has. 1868 R. Browning II. iv. 57 The devil appears himself, Armed and accoutred, horns and hoofs and tail! 1905 W. H. Mallock in Sept. 497 The devil had mimicked the art of the Creator. 1937 52 647 There was a popular legend..that Cromwell had sold his soul to the devil just before the battle of Worcester. 1970 A. L. Simon & R. Howe 130/2 The fruit with which the Devil tempted Eve. 2012 29 Apr. 50/3 I would burn eternally with the Devil in hell. 2. An evil spirit; a demon, a fiend. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > [noun] OE Cynewulf 779 Ne þearf him ondrædan deofla strælas ænig on eorðan ælda cynnes, gromra garfare, gif hine God scildeþ, duguða dryhten. OE 1531 Swapeð sigemece mid þære swi[ð]ran hond þæt on þæt deope dæl deofol gefeallað in sweartne leg. OE (2008) 1680 Hit on æht gehwearf aefter deofla hryre Denigea frean. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 1403 Alle þa þatt fellenn swa Þeȝȝ sinndenn laþe deofless. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 69 Witeð ge..in þat eche fur þat is garked to deuules and here fereden. c1300 St. James Great (Laud) 104 in C. Horstmann (1887) 37 Þere nis no deuel þat dorre nouþe neiȝ þe come, for drede. a1375 (c1350) (1867) l. 2061 (MED) He deraied him as a deuel. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxii. l. 21 For alle deorke deoueles dreden hit to huyre. c1450 (?a1400) (Ashm.) l. 4090 (MED) It was..full of..dragons & of othire deuyls. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall (1867) 121 Develyn schall com oute off helle. a1535 Bp. J. Fisher Serm. Good Friday in (?1578) sig. J.vv Thou shalt pay thine owne debtes amongest the diuils in hell. c1540 (?a1400) (2002) f. 16v All dropet the dule as he degh wold. 1563 N. Winȝet (1888) I. 118 Ane terribill cumpany of dewlis hastalie apperand to him. 1593 J. Napier ii. xviii. 221 No man dare make residence there [sc. Babylon], for fear of deuills, fayries & spirits of illusions. ?1602 (MS Bodl. Rawl. poet. 212) (1893) 330 The haire of the faire queene of devills. a1646 J. Gregory (1649) 96 This Lilith was..a kinde of shee-Divel which killed Children. 1678 R. Cudworth i. ii. 68 In their Superstitious Belief, of Ghosts, Spirits, Dæmons, Devils, Fayries and Hob-goblins. 1721 A. Ramsay at Glamour When devils, wizards or jugglers deceive the sight, they are said to cast glamour o'er the eyes of the spectator. 1758 July 85 Unless..your infernal tempers are changed, you must dwell with devils for ever. 1792 Aug. 128/2 Milton's legion of Devils floating on the sulphurous and fiery lake. 1846 39 At one moment, the sufferer fancies himself covered with disgusting vermin. At the next, legions of devils glare upon him and torment him before his time. 1879 M. D. Conway I. i. iv. 36 A devil..a being actuated by simple malevolence. 1904 H. S. Williams XI. xvii. 458 Twenty other devils haunted this restless soul, like a great ruined mansion—the battle of women, tardy gallantries, moreover theology and the wild desire to write, to make verses, tragedies! 1916 J. Jaini 43 Jainism gives to angels and devils the same constitution and origin. 1922 E. E. Southard & M. C. Jarrett iii. lix. 251 For two nights in the hospital he continued to see devils under his bed. 1970 81 231 The English witches were accused of, and often confessed to, harbouring devils in the form of animal familiars. 2005 C. Partridge II. vi. 207 Personifications of evil in the form of demons, devils, spirits, and malign entities can be found across the religious and cultural spectrum. OE (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 34 On deofla ealdre he drifð ut deoflu. OE Wulfstan (Junius) (1959) 227 Crist wæs exorcista, þa þa he ut adraf seofon deofla of þære magdaleniscan Marian anre. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 15507 He draf ut off wode menn Defless. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 39 Ure drihten drof fele deules togedere ut of a man..and þe swin urnen alse deulen hem driuen. c1384 (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xvi. 14 Thre vncleene spirites... Sotheli thei ben spirites of deuelis [L. daemoniorum], makinge signes. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John x. 20 He hath a deuel [L. daemonium], and maddith, or wexith wood. c1400 (Minn.) (1928) l. 3108 (MED) He..deluels out of þam kest. 1526 Matt. iv. f. v Them that were possessed with devils. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus I. John f. 73v He hathe the Deuell (say they) and is madde. 1611 John x. 20 He hath a deuill and is mad. View more context for this quotation a1656 Bp. J. Hall (1660) i. 18 The ejection of Divells by fasting and prayer. 1749 J. Wesley 127 Whether the Heathens cast out devils or not, 'tis sure the sons of the Jews cast them out. 1758 Lady M. W. Montagu 14 Nov. (1967) III. 190 You have dispossessed me of the real Devils who haunted me. 1837 J. Priest (1839) ii. 344 The Saviour's power to cast out and separate devils from the person they had possession of. 1881 Matt. ix. 34 By the prince of the devils casteth he out devils [margin. Gr. demons]. 1912 i. 48 Are the records of demoniacal possession recorded in the New Testament to be taken literally as such, or were those unfortunates, said to be possessed by devils, the victims of nervous disorders? 1989 Matt. xii. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out the devils, then be sure the kingdom of God has already come upon you. the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > satyr a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xxxiv. 14 And aȝen come shul deueles [a1425 L.V. fendis; L. daemonia], the beste party an asse and a party a man. 1579 J. Brooke tr. P. Viret i. f. 26v Faunes & Satyres which are a kinde of Diuels. 1605 Z. Jones tr. P. le Loyer 12 The Satyres likewise..are Demy Goates; which the holy Scripture calleth Hayrie Diuels. a1686 T. Watson (1692) 258 The Devils were Hairy, and appeared in the Forms of Satyrs and Goats. 1758 T. Newton III. 296 The word that we translate satyrs, the Seventy translate..demons or devils, who..were supposed sometimes to take the shape of goats or satyrs. the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] > false or heathen god eOE (Mercian) (1965) xcv. 5 Quoniam omnes dii gentium daemonia, dominus autem caelos fecit : forðon alle godas ðioda ðioful dryhten soðlice heofenas dyde. eOE tr. Bede (Tanner) ii. xii. 142 He in þam ilcan herige wigbed hæfde to Cristes onsægdnesse & oðer to deofla onsægdnisse [L. ad uictimas daemoniorum]. lOE vi. 17 Immolauerunt demoniis et non deo : hi ofrudan deoflan & na Gode. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms cv. 37 Thei offreden ther sones; and ther doȝtris to deuelis [1611 King James deuils, 1881 R.V. demons; L. daemonibus]. a1400 (a1325) (Trin. Cambr.) l. 11759 Alle þo deueles [Vesp. idels, Fairf. mawmettes] in a stounde Grouelynge fel to þe grounde. a1450 St. Faith (Bodl.) l. 118 in (1889) 82 326 (MED) Oþer goddus we forsakiþ..for alle hy beþ deuelen. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus ii. x. 210 He..abolished all worshippe of deuilles. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden i. 465 He had in the selfe same Church,..one Altar for Christs Religion, and another for sacrifices unto Devils. 1638 T. Herbert (rev. ed.) 335 This Devill (or Molech) is of concave copper..double guilded. 1667 J. Milton i. 373 Devils to adore for Deities. View more context for this quotation a1738 H. Grove (1740) I. iv. 110 They could never have been so abominably corrupt as to sacrifice to devils. 1820 W. Brown II. x. i. 149 Thus, in Lev. xvii. 7, they were forbidden to offer sacrifices to the devils. 1881 1 Cor. x. 20 The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils [margin. Gr. demons], and not to God. 1984 L. N. McAlister (1989) ii. viii. 153 The Indians, he reported, worshiped idols and devils and showed little disposition toward Christianity. 4. the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > ill will, malevolence > [noun] > person or thing displaying OE (Northumbrian) vi. 70 Nonne ego uos duodecim elegi et ex uobis unus diabolus est : ahne ic iuih tuelfo geceas & of iuh an diul [OE Rushw. Gospels diowul] is. OE Ælfric (Julius) (1900) II. 182 He sende eac sona sumne heahgerefan Sisinnius gehaten, swiðe hetel deofol. OE Wærferð tr. Gregory (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iii. xx. 221 Se mæssepreost com sume dæge ham of siðfæte, & þa he eode in his hus, he cleopode receleaslice to his þeowtlinge & cwæð: ‘cum, deoful, hider & unsco me’. ?a1160 (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Þa þe castles uuaren maked, þa fylden hi mid deoules & yuele men. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) l. 8817 He..wende anan rihte in-to Winchæstre. swulc hit weore an hali mon þe hæðene deouel [c1300 Otho deauel]. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) (1891) l. 4288 An olde vekke..The which devel in hir enfaunce Hadde lerned of loues arte. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 407 At thus with wrang thir dewillis suld bruk our land. c1500 (1895) 256 Ageynst this strong dyuell I ne may withstand. 1517 S. Hawes (1928) xxix. 135 Some deuylles wyll theyr husbondes bete. 1611 John vi. 70 Haue not I chosen you twelue, and one of you is a deuill ? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) v. ii. 142 Thou doest bely her, and thou art a diuell . View more context for this quotation 1642 T. Fuller v. xvii. 426 Devils in flesh antedate hell in inventing torments. 1651 J. Saint-Amard tr. F. Micanzio sig. E3v An Angell in his behaviour, and a devill..in the Mathematiques. 1726 W. R. Chetwood 82 Thou Devil! said he to Susan, and hast thou betray'd me? 1793 ‘P. Pindar’ 179 The French are..downright devils. 1850 W. M. Thackeray II. xviii. 177 A man of great talents, who knew a good deal..and was a devil to play. 1881 27/2 We have prophesied under the name of liberty, and under the name of liberty we have cast out Republican devils. 1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ iv. 217 He said that the Germans had broken loose, fair devils, and were raping women and braining bairns all over Belgium, it was hell let loose. 2002 T. Pratchett 13 He..walked out straight into Carcer. The devil stabbed him in the neck and ran for it. the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > tribulation, trouble, or affliction > wretched person 1593 J. Eliot 145 I am a poore diuell, I beseech you haue pittie on me. 1671 J. Glanvill 2 Gross Ignoramusses, Illiterate Fools,..Cheats, and poor Devils. 1698 tr. F. Froger 160 The poor Devil was condemned to have his head chopped off. 1768 L. Sterne I. 95 I am apt to be taken..when a poor devil comes to offer his service to so poor a devil as myself. 1797 S. T. Coleridge Sept. (1956) I. 340 This is unlucky. Poor devil! 1816 W. Scott II. vi. 169 What can we do for that puir doited deevil of a knight-baronet? 1850 Ld. Beaconsfield Let. 16 Nov. in (1886) 250 Riding the high Protestant horse, and making the poor devils of Puseyites the scapegoats. 1876 F. E. Trollope I. xiii. 167 Why should he do anything..for a poor devil like me? 1904 M. Sinclair xxvii. 172 I hear the unlucky devil's just cleaned himself out at Monte Carlo. 2013 (Nexis) 4 Apr. (Sport section) 62 Anyway it didn't make any difference, the poor old devil. the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > playful mischievousness > mischievous person > [noun] 1600 W. Shakespeare sig. C4 Our house is hell, and thou a merry deuillDidst rob it of some tast of tediousnes. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. v. 199 Thou most excellent diuell of wit. View more context for this quotation 1727 D. Defoe i. vi. 383 He is bound to come as he is a cunning Devil, and knows his Interest. 1774 O. Goldsmith 57 So provoking a Devil was Dick. 1841 F. Marryat I. x. 116 I was as nearly trapped by a cunning devil of a widow. 1879 11 Apr. 230/2 Old Harold..was a reckless devil if any man ever was. 1915 M. E. Ryan in Sept. 452/1 Pedro was a jealous devil because Mariana, his wife, cast eyes and sent messages to Miguel. 1970 C. Whitman xii. 183 You're a clever devil... You'll be an Inspector before you know where you are. 2015 (Nexis) 4 July (Features section) 37 She's looking for a funny, hands-on, confident handsome devil. the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > one who loves > devotee 1690 17 You do not know him, he is a very Devil at Processes and Law Suits. 1742 H. Fielding I. ii. xi. 241 I remember you at the College a very Devil at this Sport. View more context for this quotation 1776 E. Thompson ii. 21 I was ever a very devil about the senses of the sex. 1820 (ed. 10) Is very smooth spoken, of good address, looks like an upper Valet, and is a perfect devil at his Work. 1882 W. Besant II. xxviii. 223 A chap like my cousin Dick, who's a clever fellow and a devil for fireworks. 1925 July 275/2 He was a very devil at finding experiments and fishing up facts to flabbergast the gentlemen he called ‘verbalists’. 1944 B. Bandel Let. 1 Apr. in S. J. Bugbee (2004) 152 He is a perfect devil about loving to get you in front of sixteen people & then seeing if he can fuss you. 1974 S. Middleton ix. 137 When I first met him, he was a devil for pushing his nose into an argument. 2000 N. Williams in J. Thomas 47 He was a devil for those wine-gums. Brought a bag to every session. 1755 C. Charke 48 The subtle Devil, knowing his Way Home, set up a barbarous full Gallop. 1834 T. Medwin II. 44 He was the fastest trotter in the cantonment, but a restive devil. 1884 26 July 6/5 That tusker there (pointing to the large elephant)..is a devil. He has killed three keepers already. 1916 W. H. Miller v. 99 If..you want a wild, frisky devil that you can't kill with an ax, get the..[Irish setter] and train him; he will make a fine, staunch dog. 1998 (Nexis) 21 Apr. 13 We're building a special tank with 10 inch thick glass because they [sc. the sharks] can be vicious devils. the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > white person > [noun] 1938 43 898 The illiteracy of the southern Negroes now seemed due to Caucasian ‘tricknollogy’. ‘Why does the Devil keep our people illiterate? So that he can use them for a tool and also a slave.’ 1964 31 July 12/3 Harlem..is where the white man is no longer the ‘ofay’ but ‘Mr. Charlie’ or ‘the man’, and mostly ‘whitey’, derived from the Black Nationalist talk of ‘the blue-eyed white devil’. 1992 W. K. Bentley & J. M. Corbett 55 Devil, a white person. 2016 C. M. Driscoll iv. 171 We might finally no longer be regarded as ‘devils’ when we..begin to focus on transforming our white heritage. 5. the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > diabolicalness > [noun] > personification society > morality > moral evil > [noun] > personification of > by which a person may be possessed or actuated the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] > familiar or possessing spirit > personification of evil OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens (1974) 199 [Contra has virulentorum septenas vitiorum] beluas: diofla. 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus II. Rev. xiv. f. xxiiv In suche an hart as is rather possessed with a deuyll of pryde, infydelitie, and of abhominable presumpcion to condemne the holy gospel. 1609 W. Shakespeare ii. iii. 20 I haue said my prayers, and diuell Enuie say Amen. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare v. ii. 55 How the diuell Luxury..tickles together. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) ii. iii. 289 It hath pleasde the Diuell drunkennesse, to giue place to the Diuell wrath. View more context for this quotation 1660 H. More vi. xvii. 269 Intimating that the rest of the Vices are Devils also. 1701 D. Defoe i. 10 Ingratitude, a Devil of Black Renown. 1819 P. B. Shelley ii. i. 23 The devil was rebuked that lives in him. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in 2nd Ser. III. 177 The devil of sophistry, with which thou art possessed. 1884 H. Broadhurst in Mar. 347 The devil of short-sighted greed is powerful enough if left alone. 1914 Nov. 69/1 Too many of us go through life with doubts and fears, without realizing that the only real devil there is in the world is fear. 1971 V. Bonham-Carter (1973) (Postscript) 207 Our devil is pressure. Pressure by people upon space for living, and upon natural resources which are the means for existence. 2010 L. Diaz & N. Hirschfeld xx. 382 And the devil of despair came roaring back to dance with a vengeance. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > mental or moral vigour > that can be roused 1780 T. Pasley Jrnl. 5 Mar. in (1931) 69 He has many good qualities, but as the old adage says, has not Divil enough in him. 1823 Nov. 434/2 They must have Devil enough..to do gallant things. 1847 Ld. G. Bentinck in (1884) III. 156 That any nation was so without ‘devil’ in it as to have laid down and died as tamely as the Irish have. 1958 L. Durrell v. 113 Darley is..so good! He lacks devil. 2006 M. French (2008) xxii. 337 Something about the kid just roused the devil in him, made him furious. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricket ground > [noun] > surface of ground > quality of society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > a ball bowled > motion of ball > specific 1845 W. Denison p. viii The aim of a bowler should be..to practise such pace with any partial variation which may enable him to infuse so much ‘devil’ into his bowling as shall render it difficult for the batsman, not merely to play it for runs, but to keep the ball out of the wicket. 1884 I. Bligh in i. ii. 5 Evans bowled steadily, but without much ‘devil’. 1937 3 May 15/1 Bowling with plenty of devil in the second innings..he had captured 3 valuable wickets. 1960 18 Jan. 1/4 There was little ‘devil’ in the pitch. 1987 4 Sept. 33/4 On a pitch which had lost most of its devil Gloucestershire did well to reduce their opponents to 112 for six. 2003 (Nexis) 18 Apr. 33 The devil in his bowling comes from his cocked wrist and his furiously fast arm action. 6. the world > animals > birds > order Gruiformes > [noun] > family Rallidae (rail) > genus Fulica > fulica atra (coot) 1580 C. Hollyband Foulque, a bird called a Coute, & because of the blackenesse, is called a Diuell. 1599 J. Minsheu at EmXarráco EmXarráco,..a certaine sea fish with hornes called of some a sea toade, of some the sea diuell. 1686 F. Willughby & J. Ray iii. i. 85 (heading) Rana piscatrix, the Toad-fish or Frog-fish or Sea-Divel. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer 286 There is a sort of Creature here..called..by the Dutch, The Devil of Negombo..because of its qualities... It hath a sharp Snout, and very sharp Teeth. 1787 T. Best v. 47 The Bull-head... This fish on account of its ugliness, is in some places called the fresh water devil. 1829 H. Widowson xviii. 180 The devil, or as the naturalists term it ‘dasyurus ursinus’, is very properly named... It is as great a destroyer of young lambs as the hyena; and, generally speaking, is as large as a middling-sized dog. a1862 H. D. Thoreau (1864) iii. 287 Devil [that is, Indian Devil, or cougar] lodges about here—very bad animal. 1888 174 Wolverine.—Called by the Cree Indians ‘the devil’... Very cunning and destructive. 1917 29 74 Colymbus holboelli.—Bobtail, Shitepoke..red-eyed devil, sinker. 1981 14 Oct. 65/1 Unique to Tasmania, the devils are marsupial. 2004 May 53/1 Parker found himself staring into the eyes of a healthy young male Puma concolor, an animal that goes by many names: cougar,..ghost walker, swamp devil. 1776 E. M. da Costa 291 (Plate V, fig. 5) A Murex, The Devil. 1797 G. Humphreys 37 Horridus—Le Diable—Devil—China, &c.—Voluta Turbinellus Linn. 1815 S. Brookes 155 Devil. Murex Turbinellus. the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Apodiformes > [noun] > family Apodidae > genus Apus > apus apus (swift) 1885 C. Swainson 95 From its impetuous flight, and its dark colour, it [sc. the swift] is called Devil (Berks)..Swing Devil (Northumb.), Skeer Devil (Devon, Somerset), Devil's screecher (Devon), Devil shrieker (Craven). the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > most extreme 1681 T. Otway i. i. 5 To part with ready money is the devil. 1701 G. Granville Epil. 47 A War of Profit mitigates the Evil, But to be tax'd, and beaten, is the Devil. 1710 11–14 Aug. To quit a Yielding Mistress is the Devil. 1799 R. Southey II. 95 In such a sweltering day as this A knapsack is the devil! 1827 W. Scott 28 June (1941) 69 To be cross-examined by those who have seen the true thing is the devil. 1885 30 734/2 These Southern girls are the very devil. 1916 D. H. Lawrence 11 Dec. (1962) I. 491 Fusty, fuzzy peace-cranks and lovers of humanity are the devil. 1941 V. Woolf (1953) 125 Audiences were the devil. O to write a play without an audience—the play. 1961 P. White 7 Apr. (1994) vii. 185 Letters are the devil, and I always hope that any I have written have been destroyed. 2015 K. Link (2016) 19 That's going to be the devil to clean up. 8. society > communication > printing > printer > [noun] > errand-boy 1683 J. Moxon II. Dict. 383 The Press-man sometimes has a Week-Boy to Take Sheets, as they are Printed off the Tympan: These Boys do in a Printing-House, commonly black and Dawb themselves: whence the Workmen do Jocosely call them Devils; and sometimes Spirits, and sometimes Flies. 1709 R. Steele No. 31. ⁋13 Mr. Bickerstaff's Messenger, or (as the Printers call him) Devil, going to the Press. a1764 R. Lloyd Dialogue in (1774) II. 4 And in the morning when I stir, Pop comes a Devil ‘Copy Sir’. 1791 J. Boswell anno 1781 II. 387 He had married a printer's devil... J. Reynolds: ‘I thought a printer's devil was a creature with a black face and in rags.’ Johnson: ‘Yes, Sir. But I suppose, he had her face washed, and put clean clothes on her.’ 1836 B. H. Smart at Sematology Mr. Woodfall's men, from the devil up to the reader. 1849 E. E. Napier I. p. xxviii As neither space, time, nor printers devils are under control, I must therefore content myself with the above brief..review. 1922 5 Mar. 88 Experience in every line of printing from devil up and five years' reporter and desk on metropolitan dailies. 1977 5 June 14/4 Our devil—the young scamp—insinuated that there would be others of the fraternity who would not object to matrimony. 1984 5 16 He worked as a devil in a printing shop. society > law > legal profession > lawyer > [noun] > counsellor, barrister, or advocate > junior counsel 1818 6 Sept. 571/2 There is a subordinate individual connected with the offices of both [the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General], who in the profession is called by the Nick-name of a much-injured infernal personage... Mr. Richardson..is the present devil. 1820 Nov. 526/1 I mean neither the mythological satan, nor the devil to whom Dr. Faustus made a deed of gift of his soul,..nor yet the diabolus regis, or attorney-general's devil, nor a devil of a fellow, nor a queer devil. 1831 2 435 The smart and artful advocate..pining for the exalted post of devil to the Attorney-General. 1849 Ld. Campbell II. xxxiv. 437 He [sc. Lord Mansfield] had signed and forgotten both opinions,—which were, perhaps, written by devils or deputies. 1872 16 Nov. 4/6 Sir James Hannen, we are told, was a ‘devil’ once. 1888 29 Dec. 3/1 It is by no means an uncommon thing for an Attorney-General's ‘devil’, or point and case hunter, to be offered a judgeship. 1980 Ld. Denning ii. i. 12 A ‘devil’ is always paid for his work. The Treasury ‘Devil’ is the best of devils. He is the pick of the juniors at the Bar with a reversion to a judgeship. 1997 27 Nov. 11/1 The post of Treasury Devil is one of the most prestigious at the Bar. society > leisure > the arts > literature > writer or author > [noun] > hack 1888 8 Aug. Certain societies, the Early English Text, Chaucer, Shakspere, etc., though large employers of ‘devils’, pay the highest wages. 1891 A. F. Leach 22 (note) Of course he ‘devilled’ his duties, and equally of course the ‘devil’ neglected them. the world > matter > light > firework > [noun] > types of 1742 H. Fielding II. iii. vi. 113 The Captain..pinned a Cracker or Devil to the Cassock. View more context for this quotation 1807 18 Apr. 157 Like a nest of squibs and devils in a firework. 1809 22 203 Rockets, infernals, fire-devils. 1836 T. Hook I. vii. 328 Four ‘devils’ or ‘wild-fires’, such as we were in the habit of making at school. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Devil, a sort of priming made by damping and bruising gunpowder. 1883 G. A. Henty xxvi. 257 In a few minutes the ‘devil’ was ready, and a light applied; it blazed furiously for half a minute, sending volumes of light smoke up the shaft. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > food by way of preparation > [noun] > highly seasoned dish 1786 W. Craig in No. 86. 341 Make punch, brew negus, and season a devil. 1788 ‘P. Pindar’ 34 By Dev'l..I mean a turkey's gizzard; So christned for its quality, by man, Because so oft 'tis loaded with kian [= cayenne]. 1820 W. Irving L'Envoy in II. 417 Another holds a curry or a devil in utter abomination. 1828 G. Smeeton 20 The extract of Capsicums, or extract of Grains of Paradise, is known in the [gin-selling] trade by the appellation of ‘the Devil’. c1844 W. M. Thackeray ii The devilled fowl had..no devil in it. 1848 (ed. 2) I. 50 Devils were his forte: he imparted a pungent relish to a gizzard or a drumstick that set the assuaging power of drink at defiance. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ III. viii. 113 Let's..have a devil and a glass of champagne. 1984 26 Jan. 17/3 Divide into leg and thigh pieces... Rub in the devil very thoroughly. 2012 T. Giudice x. 142 I love the cool crunch of the lettuce topped with the spicy ‘devil’ dressing. 11. 1794 5–7 Aug. The material must be opened by a machine, called by the cotton manufacturers a devil. 1822 D. Booth 176 These operations are performed by the Woolmill, (commonly called the Devil). 1836 G. Head 144 The town of Dewsbury..celebrated for..grinding old garments into new; literally tearing in pieces fusty old rags..by a machine called a ‘devil’, till a substance very like the original is reproduced. 1860 26 May 160 Where the ‘devil’ first beats the cotton from the bale. 1867 O. W. Holmes xxv. 297 To the paper factory, where they have a horrid machine they call the devil, that tears everything to bits. 1880 13 Dec. An instrument called ‘the Devil’ used by foreign fishermen for destroying the fishing nets of English boats on the East coast. 1886 7 Dec. 10/1 There were exhibited in the court room three Belgian ‘devils’ and three Belgian grapnels which had been captured by Lowestoft fishermen. 1887 June 119/1 The devil, a hollow cone with spikes projecting within, against which work the spikes of a drum, dashing the rags about at great speed. 1890 W. J. Gordon 72 A herculean metallic disk, grimly named the ‘devil’, armed with steel cutters on its circumference that takes off a pound of shavings at every revolution. 1910 28 i. 85 The devil has been abolished..from the North Sea. 1965 G. Jones i. ii. 21 All the old machines from the whole factory had been brought down and stored there,..devils, big coils of belting, mules, spinners, carding machines, the lot broken and out of date. 1997 G. Hack (1999) xi. 215/2 A devil can follow complex shapes, such as the continuous back rail on some Windsor chairs—a task nearly impossible with other planes. 2003 P. R. Lord viii. 221 The teazer (otherwise known as a wool willow, wool opener, or devil) has many similarities to the opening machines already described. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > artistic work in metal > [noun] > art of working in gold > tools 1831 J. Holland I. xvii. 282 Certain implements acting with a boss and a slit block of iron, called a devil. 1877 G. E. Gee vi. 87 They are placed upon a bunch of matted wire (old binding-wire, and called the ‘devil’), ready to be soldered. 1883 Jan. Dried by means of sundry coke fires kept burning in iron grates called ‘devils’, similar to those used by the Gas Company's men in our streets. 1895 7 Jan. 8/3 The match was only brought off at Cardiff by the extraordinary precautions for warming the ground by means of ‘devils’. 1901 13 Dec. 362/2 Large surfaces are dealt with by burning, an instrument called a ‘devil’ being generally employed by painters for ‘burning off’ doors, panels, etc. 1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney 157/1 Devil (Foundry), a small portable grate containing a charcoal fire, used for drying the internal surfaces of a mould. (Plumb.) A plumber's firepot; used for heating solder, etc. 1970 G. E. Evans vii. 79 In the summer we did our cooking out of doors. We had an old devil..and we set it up. the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > dry weather or climate > [noun] > dust-storm or sand-storm > dust-spout or sand-spout 1813 J. Forbes I. ix. 205 Clouds of dust, burning like the ashes of a furnace, continually overwhelmed us; and we were often surrounded by the little whirlwinds called bugulas, or devils. 1814 B. Heyne 9 Whirlwinds..at the end of March and the beginning of April..carry dust and light things along with them, and are called by the natives peshashes, or devils. 1834 A. Burnes II. xiii. 47 Whirlwinds, that raised the dust to a great height, and moved over the plain like water-spouts at sea. In India these phenomena are familiarly known by the name of devils. 1885 R. F. Burton in tr. I. xii. 114 Devils, or pillars of sand, vertical and inclined, measuring a thousand feet high, rush over the plain. 1901 16 Mar. 3/1 The ‘devil’ in South Africa will pick up boots and tins of sardines, even bottles of whisky and saddle bags. 1904 S. E. White Rawhide ii, in Nov. 23/2 The tinted atmosphere of the south-west, refracting the sun through the infinitesimal earth motes thrown up constantly by the wind devils of the desert. 1985 27 June 45/2 Stubble burning at a farm near Chichester, Sussex, produced a 70-metre-high fire-devil which..destroyed four buildings. 2010 26 Aug. 37/5 These tiny whirlwinds are known as ‘pool devils’. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher at Devil to pay and no pitch hot The seam which margins the water-ways was called the ‘devil’, why only caulkers can tell, who perhaps found it sometimes difficult for their tools. 1904 I. K. Funk et al. (new ed.) Devil,..9. Naut. A seam between the garboard-strake and the keel. 2005 I. Dear & P. Kemp (ed. 2) at Devil Devil was also the name given by caulkers to the garboard seam, which was always, when a ship was careened, not only the most awkward to get at but usually the wettest and most difficult to keep above water and caulk. 1873 S. Plimsoll 37 ‘Oh, devils are sham bolts, you know; that is, when they ought to be copper, the head and about an inch of the shaft are of copper, and the rest is iron’..Seventy-three devils were found in one ship by one of the surveyors of Lloyd's. 2005 M. McCarthy x. 126 (caption) A copper ‘devil’ or ‘sham bolt’ alongside a through bolt. Phrases P1. In imprecations, exclamations, curses, intensifying phrases, etc. †a. a devil way and variants. c1225 (?c1200) (Bodl.) l. 705 Leac him aȝeinwart as þe beare unhwiht; in alre diche deofle wei ne mahte nawt letten. c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) 124 in C. Horstmann (1887) 203 Þov worst, lif and soule, a-deuele wei [a1325 Corpus Cambr. adeolwey] al clene i-nome. c1330 (Auch.) (1933) 2164 And bad hir go þat ilche dai On alder twenti deuel wai. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1870) l. 4257 And forth he goth a [c1405 Hengwrt on, c1410 Harl. 7334 in] twenty deuel way. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 2177 A twenty deuelewey the wynd hym dryue. a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xiv. 172 Go hens, harlottys, in xx dewill way, Fast and belyfe. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil (1957) i. Prol. 260 A twenty devill way fall hys wark atanys. a1375 (c1350) (1867) l. 1978 (MED) Where dwelle ȝe, a deuel wai, ȝe damiseles, so long? c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 534 Lat hym go hange hym self a [c1410 Harl. 7334 on] deuel weye. c1440 (Thornton) (1949) l. 792 Ga glade þe with thi geste; Þou lett me noght of my rest In twentty deuell way. a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. ii. 14 Sit downe in the dwill way With thi vayn carpyng. a1529 J. Skelton (?1545) sig. B.viiiv That all the worlde myght say Come downe on the deuyll way. 1530 J. Palsgrave 838 In the twenty devyll way, au nom du grant diable. 1591 (?a1425) Noah's Flood (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill (1974) I. 51 Come in, wiffe, in twentye devylles waye, or ells stand there withowte. a1643 W. Cartwright (1651) iv. 62 A twenty Devil way! b. the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > referring to the devil or hell c1300 (Laud) (1868) 1188 Godrich hem hatede, þe deuel him hawe! a1350 in G. L. Brook (1968) 70 (MED) Ichot þe cherl is def, þe Del hym to-drawe! a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 805 The wrecche is ded the deuel haue his bones. a1450 (1885) 154 (MED) Þe deueles of helle ȝou droune! a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xx. 232 The dwill he hang you high to dry! a1525 Robin Hood & Potter in F. J. Child (1888) III. v. 113 The deyell spede hem, bothe bodey and bon. 1548 f. xiiijv Saiyng, the deuell take Henry of Lancastre and the together. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. ii. 209 Nay, but the diuell take mocking: speake sadde brow, and true maid. View more context for this quotation a1652 R. Brome (1657) ii. ii. sig. C 4/1 Now the Dee'l brast crag of him. 1738 J. Swift 129 Here take it, and the D——l do you good with it. 1749 H. Fielding III. vii. xii. 94 The Devil take my Father for sending me thither. View more context for this quotation 1799 W. Earle i. 5 Devil burn me, if Blarney O'Neale will ever act so rascally as to run away with your mistress. 1821 W. Scott I. ix. 215 ‘The devil take him!’ said Mordaunt, in impatient surprise. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Goose xiv, in (new ed.) I. 233 The Devil take the goose, And God forget the stranger! 1922 Jan. 754/2 Devil take you, imbecile! Show some sense, even if you have none. 1999 S. Lyngstad tr. A. Garborg i. ii. 16 Ugh, the devil take this everlasting philistinism! the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (intransitive)] > be destroyed, ruined, or come to an end c1400 Westm. Chron. in J. R. Lumby (1886) IX. 33 Excanduit rex [sc. Rich. II] et..dixit ei [sc. comiti Arundel]. ‘Quod si tu mihi imponas..vadas ad diabolum’.] c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 262 Thow seyst som folk desiren vs for richesse Somme for oure shap..Thus goth al to the deuel by thy tale. 1465 R. Calle in (2004) II. 311 Ye must seke som other remedy..or..it schall go to the dwel and be distroyed. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) iii. 102 Lete theym go to a hundred thousand devils! a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. ii. 14 Go to the dwill, and say I bad! 1553 T. Wilson (1580) 178 All his Superstition and Hypocrisie, either is or should be gone to the devill. 1569 R. Grafton II. 367 They curssed them betwene their teeth, saiyng: Get ye into England, or to the deuill. 1634 T. Herbert 102 Ere they could strangle him, he sent three of them to the Deuill. 1703 P. Motteux et al. tr. M. de Cervantes IV. xxxv. 350 May you and your disenchanting go to the Devil. 1795 Ld. Auckland Let. 23 Jan. in (1862) III. 283 This country is..very inclinable to leave the Continent to go to the devil in its own way. 1823 Ld. Byron lxvi. 86 When a man's country's going to the devil. 1859 H. Kingsley xxxii Tom..having told her..to go to the devil. 1920 E. O'Neill ii. i. 85 If that's the case, you can go to the devil... You'll get your money tomorrow when I get back from town. 1991 T. Pakenham (1992) xi. 192 Hewett found that while he had been away things had gone to the devil in many parts of the Niger. 1538 L. Ridley sig. E.viiv He wolde teche pseudapostels shulde not speake euell, curse wysshe vnto the deuell, hyghe powers and suche as be put in authorytye vnder God. 1548 L. Ridley i. sig. D.iiv There was neuer no mery world, curssyng, and banning, and wisshyng to the Deuill, suche as brought in this newe learnyng, as thei call it. 1554 H. Hilarie sig. Ciiii.v Wishing at the deuel, bothe me and my masses For playeng suche popishe and iugling partes. 1684 i. x. 94 To wish the Ships at the Devil, was no more than to piss upon 'em. 1704 J. Swift xi. 194 They heartily wish one another at the Devil. 1822 W. Hazlitt Disagreeable People in (1852) 121 Whether they are demons or angels in themselves, you wish them..at the devil. 1881 W. H. Mallock I. 219 I wish..the little animal was at the devil. 1944 G. Heyer xix. 219 You'll be wishing me at the devil, no doubt. ?1785 i. i. 3 Deil nor ye're mither had snapit the head aff ye. 1786 R. Burns (1968) I. 188 Deil na they never mair do guid, Play'd her that pliskie! 1787 R. Burns (1968) I. 286 Down ye'll hurl, deil nor ye never rise! 1816 G. Muir 49 Deil nor they were screw'd in a box of gude hard birk. 1878 R. De B. Trotter (ed. 2) 108 Fill't [sc. a well] up atweel! deevil nor she was chokit in't. 1913 J. Service 57 Deevil nor the Auld Ane had you the noo! the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun] > the date of c1390 (a1376) W. Langland (Vernon) (1867) A. ii. l. 81 In þe Date of þe deuel þe Deede was a-selet. ?1499 J. Skelton (de Worde) sig. Biij Ay quod he in the deuylles date What arte thou. c1500 (?a1475) (1896) l. 425 (MED) Ys hit thus!..what in the deuyllys date! a1529 J. Skelton (?1530) sig. Ciiiv What neded that in the dyuyls date. a1529 J. Skelton Speke Parrot in (1843) II. 22 Yet the date of ower Lord And the date of the Devyll dothe shrewdlye accord. d. As an expression of annoyance, irritation, dismay, or strong surprise. In later use chiefly with the. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) iii. l. 663 (MED) Sche began the wode rage, And axeth him what devel he thoghte. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) l. 11879 (MED) ‘Fy, quat deuel’, he saide, ‘ar ȝe?’ c1410 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Harl. 7334) (1885) l. 1238 What deuel of helle schold it elles be? 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) xix. 408 How the devyll dare ye thus speke? a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xiii. 150 What the dewill is this? He has a long snowte! ?1506 (de Worde) sig. A.vi What deuylkyns draper sayd lytell Much Thynkyst thou to be. 1529 T. More iii. v. f. lxxv/2 Why..what dyuyll rygoure could they morehaue [sic] shewed? 1560 J. Heywood xxvi. sig. Aviii When the diuell will ye come in agayne? 1598 W. Shakespeare i. ii. 6 What a diuell hast thou to do with the time of the daie? View more context for this quotation 1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti i. ii. 40 How a Devil will the Pope observe the Decrees of a Councel? 1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton viii. 174 What, the Devil, is it to you? 1749 H. Fielding V. xv. v. 229 Why, who the Devil are you? View more context for this quotation 1803 tr. G. C. A. Pigault-Lebrun I. 155 What the devil business had she in the store-room? 1819 Ld. Byron c. 53 And wonders why the devil he got heirs. a1845 T. Hood (1849) 230 What the devil makes him cry? 1912 B. W. Currie & A. McHugh xxxv. 239 ‘Who the devil are you?’ Captain Stone cut in on him. 1992 J. Torrington xxx. 268 Those animals that can mimic their surroundings—how the devil do they do it? a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. ix. 87 Dwyll! what may this be? Out, harow, full wo is me!.. A, fy, and dewyls! Whens cam he That thus shuld reyfe me my pawsté? 1589 J. Lyly sig. Biij She is dead: the diuell shee is. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iv. 129 Will you be bound for nothing, be mad good Master, cry the diuell . View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele No. 107. ⁋13 The Devil! He cried out, Who can bear it? 1832 Jan. 63/1 ‘The Pacha has put twelve ambassadors to death already.’ ‘The devil he has! and I'm sent here to make up the baker's dozen!’ 1854 R. W. Emerson Comic in (1906) III. 209 ‘That is W,’ said the teacher. ‘The Devil!’ exclaimed the boy, ‘is that W?’ 1918 J. Laing xiii. 291 Then the candle was extinguished suddenly and all was pitch darkness. ‘The devil!’ he exclaimed. 1972 P. Lovesey (2009) 122 ‘I think there could be a connexion with Philbeach House.’ ‘The devil you do! What other evidence are you hoping for—Mrs Body in a tutu?.. Of course there's a connexion.’ 2008 M. Balogh 56 ‘The devil!’ he exclaimed, running the fingers of one hand through his disheveled hair. e. Expressing strong negation. a1450 (1885) 37 Deuell me thynkeþ þat werke were waste. 1579 W. Fulke Confut. Treat. N. Sander in 697 ‘Godly images leade vs to spirituall deuotion.’ The Diuel they doe. But if they did, yet not more then the ceremonies of the olde law. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Glouc. 361 We have an English expression, The Devil he doth it, the Devil he hath it, where the addition of Devil amounteth only to a strong denial, equivalent to, he doth it not, he hath it not. 1749 H. Fielding VI. xvi. vii. 60 ‘I am convinced she will not refuse to see Mr. Blifil at a proper Time.’—‘The Devil she won't,’ answered the Squire. 1808 I. Brandon (ed. 3) iii. v. 48 Rashed. You shall be the sweetest girl in my seraglio! Almoran. (behind) The devil she will! 1830 G. P. R. James (N.-Y. ed.) I. vi. 53 ‘I have fallen in love!’ replied the young lady. ‘The devil you have!’ cried Father Philip. 1840 14 Nov. 80/3 ‘The lodgers burnt them all [sc. the bannisters] last winter, it was so cold.’ ‘The devil they did!’ 1919 Sept. 54/1 ‘I salute you, Mr. Reuben Renssalaer Watts.’ ‘The devil you do!’ retorted that gentleman. 1997 P. Stratton iii. 42 ‘She says your lordship has ruined her.’ ‘The devil she does!’ a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Husbandman l. 2347 in (1981) 88 The Deuill ane stirk taill thairfoir sall ȝe haif! 1528 sig. d viiv I trowe thou arte a syngynge man?.. The devil of the whit that I can. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus (1877) 132 The Deuill of the one chare of good werke they doen. a1593 C. Marlowe (1604) sig. C4v The diuel a peny they haue left me, but a bare pention. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. iii. 141 The diu'll a Puritane that hee is, or any thing constantly. View more context for this quotation 1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 241 The Devil a Bit he'll see the better. 1710 22–25 Sept. The D——l was Sick, the D—— l a Monk would be, the D——l was Well, the D——l a Monk was he. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in 2nd Ser. III. 75 The deil a man dares stir you within his bounds. 1832 349/1 Devil another word would she speak. 1871 Aug. 143/2 ‘Devil a doubt had I you would,’ was the frank rejoinder. ‘Thrate ye well! Devil a doubt.’ 1903 ‘T. Collins’ i. 40 Martin wanted his horse, so we hunted round and round, but devil a smell of horse or saddle or bridle could we find in the dark. 1919 22 Aug. 2/6 Nannie would remonstrate: ‘De'il a fear, Nan; there's a Hand abune that guides the gully.’ 1954 I. Murdoch (1960) 123 As he puts it himself, devil a one would know that it was other than the spring breeze had touched their things. 1986 C. McGlinchey et al. (2007) iii. 24 It was in paper money and devil a bit of Michael would take it back till he got it in gold. 2019 J. D. McClure in 95 123 Out o ‘siven Wullies in a class at Woodheid Scweel’ deil a yin cam hame [from the Great War]. (c) c1590 King James VI in (1842) 419 The King replyed: ‘The Divill haue it aills you, but that, ye would all be alyke, and ye cannot abyde any to be ouer you’. [MʽCrie Life Knox (1814) II. 299 prints ‘The d——l haid ails you’.] 1603 cvi. sig. D4 For that deuyse deuill haid it dowis. 1724 P. Walker p. xxxiv There was a Gentleman standing next to me..who said, A Pack of Damn'd Witches and Warlocks, that have the second Sight, the Devil-ha't do I see. 1786 R. Burns Twa Dogs xxx, in 20 Tho' deil-haet ails them, yet uneasy. 1816 W. Scott III. xv. 324 De'il hae't do I expect. 1933 ‘J. Bridie’ 42 De'il ha'e't I care how she enjoyed her party. f. the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot 1543 J. Bale sig. I Baptysed belles, bedes, organes,..the deuyll and all of soche Idolatrouse beggerye. 1592 T. Nashe (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. B3 Mas thats true, they say the Lawyers haue the Diuel and all. 1606 W. Warner xvi. ciii. 406 Be Lawyers get the Diuell and all. 1689 E. Hickeringill Concl. iv. 126 He may get the Devil and all of Money, and a Purse as large as his Conscience. 1703 S. Centlivre v. iv. 65 If she cou'd steal a Husband, she'd have stole the Devil and all of Gallants. 1782 R. B. Sheridan 2 July (1966) I. 152 I have no other possible way of satisfying Pacchierotti, and it will be the Devil and all to detain him. 1811 Earl Gower 18 Dec. in C. K. Sharpe (1888) I. 508 I begin to fear that the rheumatism has taken possession of your right arm..which would be the devil and all, as the vulgar would say. 1838 C. Dickens II. xx. 14 I needn't take this devil-and-all of trouble to explain matters to you. 1839 Dec. 669/1 I was thryin' and sthrivin all I could—whoo! divil an' all, ye see—to complate washin' the big brash knocker afore confission. 1888 R. Kipling 87 We shtart the divil an' all av a shine—laughin' an' crackin' on an' t'rowin' our boots about. 1931 T. Smith (2012) iii. 43 Really, it's the the devil and all to be modern—too much of a strain. 1950 ‘F. O'Brien’ in 14 June 4/5 The squad cars..have gigantic aerials, wireless valves, the divilanall machinery inside the bonnet to apprehend criminals. 1979 F. Kelly 41 ‘Young fellas has the divil an' all of a time nowadays,’ he thought as he straightened up from his back-breaking labours. 2001 A. O'Toole in M. Hickey (2004) 264 The principal..beat me and..[my father] was going to go in to the teacher and he was going to do the devil and all. the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > in a state of commotion or disorder [phrase] a1681 J. Lacy (1684) v. iv. 48 Here's the Devil and all to do. 1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais iii. 9 There was Devil and all to do. 1711 J. Swift 17 Nov. (1948) II. 415 This being queen Elizabeth's birthday, we have the D—— and all to do among us. 1712 J. Arbuthnot v. 21 Then there was the Devil and all to do, Spoons, Plates and Dishes, flew about the Room like mad. 1728 J. Swift Phyllis in J. Swift et al. (ed. 2) II. 134 See here again, the Dev'l to do. a1774 O. Goldsmith tr. P. Scarron (1775) I. vii. 42 Here had been the devil and all to do. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun] > quality or fact of being extreme > something exceedingly great in degree 1604 T. Middleton sig. C2v A Diuell of a very good conscience. 1675 J. Crowne iv. 63 What a Devil of a Face is this? 1749 H. Fielding IV. xii. vii. 240 You don't know what a Devil of a Fellow he is. View more context for this quotation 1767 ‘Coriat Junior’ I. 345 Running downhill at the devil of a rate. 1794 W. Scott 5 Sept. (1932) I. 35 Both within & without doors it was a devil of a day. 1819 Ld. Byron xi. 124 A devil of a sea rolls in that Bay. 1826 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxvii, in July 92 What an outlandish, toosey-headed, wee sunbrunt deevil o' a lassie that. 1852 R. S. Surtees x. liv. 313 We had a devil of a run—I don't know how many miles. 1869 A. Trollope II. liv. 34 Lead him the very devil of a life. 1890 W. Besant v. 53 There will be a devil of a fight when the time comes. 1943 H. Pearson iii. 52 Devil of a temper you've got, Doyle! 2004 A. Levy ix. 117 We'll have a devil of a time getting rid of them now. 1784 17 Aug. Where he came from, the Lord only can tell! or, where he is now, the devil may care! 1793 T. Hastings 95 Deel care, said Dr. Leveller, loud enough to be heard. 1858 M. Porteous (ed. 2) 8 But deil-ma-care! my facts are clear. 1982 Feb. 132 I wake up on a gorgeous day feeling wild and unpredictable and say, ‘Devil may care, today I'm going to wear red barrettes.’ P2. In similes. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely a1375 (c1350) (1867) l. 1976 (MED) He..driues in at þat dore as a deuel of helle. a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich xliv. l. 558 (MED) As A devel So fawht he than. c1530 A. Barclay ii. sig. K.iiijv One doth another tell Se how he fedeth, lyke the deuyll of hell Our parte he eteth. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. vii. 147 They will eate like Wolues, and fight like Deuils . View more context for this quotation 1632 W. Lithgow viii. 345 The distressed Protestants..over whom they domineered like Divells. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ ix. 42 My horse..pulls like the devil. 1850 R. W. Emerson Napoleon in vi. 245 He disputed like a devil on these two points. 1871 J. Hay 22 It gravels me like the devil to train Along o' sich fools as you. 1906 J. K. Bangs viii. 161 It was bitterly cold up around Fortieth Street, snowing like the devil. 1997 J. Wilson (1998) 111 If only I had a warm woolly shawl and mittens! I have chilblains that throb and itch like the devil. the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > completely or very drunk c1400 (?c1380) (1920) l. 1500 (MED) Tyl he be dronkken as þe devel, and dotes þer he syttes. ?1570 T. Drant sig. E.vi This woman or Church of Rome is as foule as the Deuill, because her head the Pope is as foule as the Deuill. 1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Amphitryon iv. v, in tr. Plautus 53 An empty Belly and a slack Guest, makes one as mad as the Devil. 1768 61 I wonder how young men can fancy my quim, It's as black as the devil and scarlet within. 1816 48 39 A man is said to be..when he is very impudent, as drunk as the devil. 1844 7 Sept. 1/3 Johnny, my life, I'm as hot as the devil! 1911 C. B. Chrysler xi. 89 He is cunning as the devil. 1945 19 29 I felt drunk..drunk as the devil. 1998 76 98 Görgey was painted as black as the devil. 2007 106 289 A huge wolf, black as coal and evil-looking as the devil. P3. In proverbs and proverbial phrases. c1400 (Rawl. B. 171) 248 Communeliche Englisshemen saide amongus ham þat þe deuel was dede. a1529 J. Skelton (a1545) sig. A.iiv The deuyll they say is dede. 1555 J. Heywood sig. Biiiv The deuyll is deade, then hast thou lost a frende. 1652 No. 13. 73 Hey Toss, the Devil's dead, the Banners are all displaying. a1661 in (1731) II. 34 With a ran tan the Devil is dead. 1709 5–7 Oct. At Play 'tis often said, When Luck returns—The Devil's dead. 1936 L. Thayer xxiii. 247 You know the old saying, ‘The devil is dead.’ It's true in a sense. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 309 As seint Ierome leareð, Neo beo ȝe neauer idel for ananrichtes þe feont beot hire his werc.] c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) §625 Dooth somme goode dedes, þt the deuel, which is oure enemy, ne fynde yow nat vnocupied [c1460 Rawl. Poet. 149 idel]. c1450 (c1400) (Huntington) (1942) 27 For whan a man is ydele and þe devel fyndeþ hym ydel, he him setteþ a-swiþe to werke. 1690 J. Birdwood 31 Idleness tempts the Devil to tempt us and trouble us: If we cannot find work for our selves, the Devil will make work for us. 1721 J. Kelly 221 If the Devil find a Man idle, he'll set him on Work. 1792 M. Wollstonecraft 321 There is a homely proverb, which speaks a shrewd truth, that whoever the devil finds idle he will employ. 1842 May 460 It is perhaps merely an illustration of the old saw, that the devil will find work for those who have none. 1848 Feb. 203 The boys are not permitted to idle away their time in the streets,..for the inhabitants firmly believe that ‘the devil finds work for idle hands to do’. 1956 30 Sept. e4/3 Although some may deride as outmoded the concept that ‘the Devil makes work for idle hands’ the essential truth of this adage may be found in the rising tide of robberies..and other antisocial pursuits. 1979 June 31/2 Robert Dale Owen..came to question the desirability of this shorter working day on the basis that the devil finds work for idle hands to do. 2010 M. Horsdal ix. 114 My father had three brothers, and Grandad believed in keeping them busy. ‘The devil finds work for idle hands’ and all that. ?1499 J. Skelton (de Worde) sig. Biij The deuyll myghte daunce therin for ony crowche. 1565 J. Calfhill Pref. f. 17 There is smal store of Saincts, when the Diuell carieth the Crosse. 1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes i. vi. 44 It is a common saying—‘The Devil lurks behind the Cross’. 1627 M. Drayton Miseries Queene Margarite in 82 Ill's the precession (and fore runs much losse,) Wherein men say, the Deuill beares the Crosse. a1640 P. Massinger Bashful Lover iii. i. 29 in (1655) The devil sleeps in my pocket, I have no cross To drive him from it. 1726 W. R. Chetwood 209 Leaving room in all our Pockets for the Devil to dance a Saraband, for we had not one Cross to keep him out. 1826 W. Scott I. iii. 62 No devil so frightful as that which dances in the pocket where there is no cross to keep him out. c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll l. 174 in W. C. Hazlitt (1864) I. 226 They dyd flee fro hym, as the deuyll fro holy water. ?1534 tr. sig. e They flee as the deuyll dooth holy water. 1596 W. Lambarde (rev. ed.) 334 The olde Prouerbe, how well the Diuell loueth holy water. 1662 H. Foulis iii. ii. 179 One that hated all people that loved obedience, as the Devil doth Holy water. 1738 J. Swift 149 I love Mr. Neverout, as the Devil loves Holy Water. 1828 C. Swan tr. A. Manzoni I. ix. 281 I can bear witness to my daughter's hate of this gentleman: she hates him as the devil hates holy water. 1934 R. J. Casey 243 She hates him like the devil hates holy water. 2008 (Nexis) 8 Feb. a14 Politicians don't get their marching orders from the people at all—they fear referendums like the devil does holy water. the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > in a state of commotion or disorder [phrase] a1500 in C. Brown (1939) 277 (MED) Better wer be at tome for ay, Þan her to serue, þe deuil to pay, sic vana famulantes. 1711 J. Swift 28 Sept. (1948) II. 372 And then there will be the devil and all to pay. 1728 C. Cibber v. i. 77 In comes my Lady Townly here..who..has had the Devil to pay yonder. 1738 J. Swift 179 I must be with my Wife on Tuesday, or there will be the Devil and all to pay. 1744 A. Hamilton Itinerarium 6 July in C. Bridenbaugh (1948) 83 It was the devil to pay and no pitch hot? An interrogatory adage metaphorically derived from the manner of sailors who pay their ship's bottoms with pitch. 1820 Ld. Byron 5 Nov. (1977) VII. 218 There will be the devil to pay, and there is no saying who will or who will not be set down in his bill. 1830 J. Shipp (ed. 2) I. 61 ‘Is there anything the matter?’—‘Yes,’ replied the Captain, ‘the devil to pay, and no pitch hot.’ 1837 J. W. Carlyle I. 72 Had he been laid up at present, there would have been the very devil to pay. 1892 A. Birrell xii. 272 Then, indeed—to use a colloquial expression—there would be the devil to pay. 1923 F. H. Kitchen 103 There would be the very devil to pay if Crutchley..got wise to their existence. 1956 M. P. Hood viii. 74 I thought the devil'd be to pay 'n no pitch hot. 1963 W. P. Blatty (1964) xii. 59 If the plane were late there would be the devil to pay. 1992 R. Moss vi. 86 When Nancy's father found out she had a bun in the oven, there was the devil to pay and no pitch hot, as we used to say in our section of Meath. 2006 30 157 If there is a leak and it's not attended to, there will be the devil to pay down the road. a1535 T. More (1553) iii. xxii. sig. T.i Some say in sporte, and thinke in earnest, the deuil is not so blacke as he is painted. 1596 T. Lodge sig. H3 Diuels are not so blacke as they be painted..nor women so wayward as they seeme. 1642 J. Howell xiv. 180 For the Devill is not so black as he is painted, no more are these Noble Nations and Townes as they are tainted. 1654 R. Whitlock 271 They use their Adversary according to the Proverb, painting the Devill blacker then he is. 1711 D. Defoe 87 From which cool thinking it presently recurr'd, that the Devil was not so black as he was painted. 1780 S. Lee v. 87 Why paint the devil blacker than he is? 1837 A. W. Fonblanque I. 226 That the Devil of Charles X could be painted blacker than his complexion would prove. 1893 14 Oct. 516/2 In canto 22 Mr. Musgrave paints the devil blacker than he is painted by Dante. 1916 5 Oct. 2/2 This is but another case where the devil is actually not so black as he is painted. 1965 23 Feb. 6/5 They believe..that all this is not so wicked and that the Devil is not so black as he is painted. 2014 (Nexis) 15 Dec. The devil is not as black as he is painted, this oligarch of ours. 1546 J. Heywood ii. ix. sig. Kiv Than wold ye loke ouer me, with stomake swolne, Lyke as the deuill lookt ouer Lyncolne. 1571 A. Golding in tr. J. Calvin 9 As we say proverbyally in English, to looke uppon one as the divile looketh over Lincoln. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Lincs. 153 He looks as the Devil over Lincoln. 1738 J. Swift 86 She look'd at me, as the Devil look'd over Lincoln. 1769 T. Nugent tr. P. J. Grosley I. 229 Now and then he cast a look at me, con l'occhio dele canone, as the devil looks over Lincoln, and his inauspicious looks sufficiently prognosticated his decision. 1821 W. Scott I. i. 25 Here be a set of good fellows willing to be merry; do not scowl on them like the devil looking over Lincoln. 1822 W. Scott I. x. 242 When I offer you gold for the winning, you look on me as the devil looks over Lincoln. 1915 D. H. Lawrence iv. 103 Her cousin..walking with his head over her shoulder, a little bit behind her, like the Devil looking over Lincoln, as Brangwen noted angrily and yet with satisfaction. 1600 W. Shakespeare i. iii. 97 The deuill can cite Scripture for his purpose . View more context for this quotation 1763 2 389/2 I stared at him, as he was hypocritically holding forth. But this made me recollect the old proverb, that even the devil can quote scripture, if he wants his turn to be served by it. 1786 J. Reed 5 Broker: Even Scripture itself declares in their favor—as I remember It says, ‘Where there is no law, there is no transgression.’ Rope-maker. ‘The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.’ 1829 284 The Devil can quote scripture for his purpose; and earthly potentates can, it seems, prostitute the holy name of justice to the most unhallowed of purposes. 1888 Oct. 251 We cannot help recalling the old saw, ‘the devil can quote scripture for his own ends’. 1909 J. P. Meakin 124 One paragraph from any speech or work can be made to mean anything—‘the devil can quote scripture for his own purpose’. 1978 V. Windeyer 29 The controversy has been marked by differing assertions of constitutional principle... If the Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, propagandists can twist history for theirs. 2001 D. Hall xxi. 177 ‘I am not my brother's keeper,’ a voice said, something out of the Bible, but before I could be comforted by it, I heard Grandma saying, ‘Even the devil can quote scripture for his purpose.’ 1606 J. Day sig. D4v You were worse then the deuil els, for they say hee helps his seruants. 1661 A. Brome sig. K5v The Devil's ever kind to his own. 1738 J. Swift 84 Ay, Madam, that's true; For they say, the Devil is kind to his own. 1806 I. 140 They say the devil is always good to his own. 1837 F. Chamier II. i. 13 Weazel was the only midshipman saved besides myself: the devil always takes care of his own. 1897 31 Mar. 4/1 It is said that the devil looks after his own and there can be no question..that he has been particularly active and enthusiastic in the behalf of Doyle, Fidel and Young. 1940 R. A. J. Walling vii. 195 The devil looks after his own. 1999 10 Oct. 19/4 Don't hold your breath, I tell him. The Devil looks after his own. Ronnie, you'll be here a long time yet. 1621 B. Robertson tr. Erasmus 21 Betwixt the Deuill and the dead sea. 1637 R. Monro ii. 55 I with my partie, did lie on our Poste, as betwixt the Devill and the deepe Sea. 1690 W. Walker 394 Between the devil and the dead sea. 1721 J. Kelly 58 Between the Dee'l, and the deep Sea. That is, between two Difficulties equally dangerous. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in 1st Ser. IV. 87 Being atween the deil and the deep sea. 1894 H. H. Gibbs (ed. 3) 199 You must remember that he was between the devil and the deep sea. 1920 Aug. 35/1 But between the devil and the deep sea is a narrow path to a safer position in a business way. 1992 Mar. 72/3 The holidaymaker is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If you book your holiday early you risk having the flight changed; if you wait, it may be full. 2006 Feb. 60/1 Bisexuals are often caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, experiencing rejection from both straight and gay societies. the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > never 1645 H. Burkhead ii. 35 We shall be payd, when the divell is blinde. 1662 A. Brome (new ed.) 9 But when this comes to passe, say the Devil is blind. c1702 (1876) 74 For we will be Married, When the Devil is Blind. 1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus 288 They'll bring it about when the Devil's blind [L. id fiet ad Calendas Graecas]. 1738 J. Swift 40 Nevercut. I'll make you a fine Present one of these Days. Miss. Ay; when the Devil's blind; and his Eyes are not sore yet. 1832 15 Mar. Somebody had cried out ‘God bless the King’ and the prisoner Gilchrist had answered he would say God bless the King when the devil was blind. 1847 J. O. Halliwell (at Horn) In a horn when the devil is blind, spoken ironically of a thing never likely to happen. Devon. the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection] > at appearance 1591 J. Lyly i. iii. sig. B4 O that we had Sir Tophas..in the midst of our myrth, & ecce autem, wyl you see the deuill?] 1666 G. Torriano Proverbial Phrases 134/2 in The English say, Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow. 1672 M. Atkins 72 Talk of the Devil and see his horns. 1702 M. Prior Hans Carvel in 449 Forthwith the Devil did appear, (For name him, and he's always near). 1721 J. Kelly 299 Speak of the Dee'l, and he'll appear, spoken when they, of whom we are speaking, come in by Chance. 1738 J. Swift 1 He's just coming towards us. Talk of the Devil. 1853 R. C. Trench vi To talk as little about the devil..as they can; lest he appear. 1893 G. Allen I. 10 Talk of the devil!—Here comes Thiselton! 1922 E. O'Neill (1923) i. 9 Speak of the devil. We was just talkin' about you. 1958 G. Greene iii. iii. 136 ‘What's the matter, Hasselbacher?’ ‘Oh, it's you, Mr. Wormold. I was just thinking of you. Talk of the devil,’ he said, making a joke of it. 1962 J. Merseraeu ix. 110 Whether Lermontov was consciously employing the old formula, ‘Speak of the Devil and he will appear,’ is difficult to say. 2011 (Nexis) 25 July James! Speak of the devil! I was just asking someone if you were around. society > society and the community > dissent > lack of peacefulness > [noun] > a disturbance caused by dissension 1756 4 Sept. A great number of persons daily frequented an alehouse near the Five Fields, Chelsea, to game at several unlawful games, such as..devil and taylors. 1765 9 Sept. And then there is the Devil among the taylors, and the Devil among the players [etc.]. 1767 8 May A Barber or a Shoemaker playing at the Devil among the Taylors in a public House. 1782 26 Nov. Gobble, alarmed, declares he would give his Daughter to Harlequin if he would bring the Devil among the Taylors. 1828 J. Ruddiman 71 You forget that you are..nae playing at ‘the deil amang the tailors’ here; sic glaiks are not for douce folks like you and me. 1834 Ld. Londonderry Let. 27 May in (1861) II. iv. 98 Reports are various as to the state of the enemy's camp, but all agree that there is the devil among the tailors. 1851 H. Mayhew II. 17/2 A game known as the ‘Devil among the tailors’..a top was set spinning on a long board, and the result depended upon the number of men, or ‘tailors’, knocked down by the ‘devil’ (top) of each player. 1912 28 June 9/6 The devil among the tailors created nothing like the hullaballoo there had been among the doctors, whose very silk hats had bristled with indignation. 1969 V. Bartlett xi. 139 A game which one finds far too seldom in public houses is ‘devil among the tailors’. 1983 22 Aug. 9/2 Suddenly a springy young man with a soldier's haircut has sprung into their midst, a devil-among-the-tailors, and is making the floor look like a trampoline. 1998 (Nexis) 26 June 5 They enjoyed games such as devil-among-the-tailors and table skittles as well as browsing among the bric-a-brac and books on sale. 2003 N. Brownlee 152 Traditional Pub Games... Western Skittles, Old English Skittles, Long Alley, Rolly Polly, Hood Skittles, Daddlums, Table Skittles (Devil Amongst the Tailors). 1773 Dec. 430 They [sc. the Moravians and Methodists] have adopted the music of some of our finest songs, &c. such as, He comes! The Hero comes, &c. And they have given good reasons for so doing: for, as Whitefield said, ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?’ 1791 6 App. 555 When a friend of Whitfield observed, that many of the Methodist's hymns were sung to tunes..of a lighter nature, he gravely replied, ‘Why should the devil have all the good tunes?’ 1860 8 82/2 [They] have set themselves against..out-door fun, and have done with sports and pastimes—as Rowland Hill said the pious had done with the tunes—i.e. let the devil have all the good ones. 1861 23 Mar. 411/3 If we go into the churches we hear frivolous music, sung by a quartet of voices, and accompanied by an organist who would be rapturously appreciated in a lager beer cellar. John Wesley could not assert now that the devil has all the best tunes. 1892 20 Oct. 295/3 On the principle of not letting the devil have all the good music, it may be good policy not to let him have all the..‘pithy paragraphs’. 1906 May 710/1 Tobacco is not a hanging matter. It makes a great many persons more comfortable and contented... A man trying to reform ought not to be made to feel that ‘the devil has all the good tunes’. 1986 (Nexis) 22 Nov. Whether or not the Devil has all the best tunes, it is a fact that some of the most passionate sacred music of the 20th century has been composed by non-believers. 2004 J. H. Darch & S. K. Burns 131 Having famously asked his son the question, ‘Why should the devil have all the best tunes?’, William [Booth] encouraged Salvationists to set their hymns and songs to the ‘pop’ tunes of the day. 1788 F. Grose (ed. 2) at Devil To pull the Devil by the tail, to be reduced to one's shifts. a1832 J. Bentham (1843) X. 25/2 So fond of spending his money on antiquities, that he was always pulling the devil by the tail. 1899 2 Oct. 6/9 If the Irish farmers are content to drag along with their present rents.., they are quite welcome to go on pulling the devil by the tail. 1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House i, in 15 Poor Ellie! I know. Pulling the devil by the tail. 1968 T. Kilroy (1969) 53 Still alive. Just pulling the devil by the tail. 1979 ‘H. Leonard’ Summer in (1992) 282 Richard. Need we ask how's business? Stormy. Divil by the tail. You? 2014 C. Tóibín xii. 161 ‘And how are they all in Cush?’ Nora asked. ‘Pulling the devil by the tail, the few that are left,’ Tom said. society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > make excuses [verb (intransitive)] 1776 L. Carter 27 Apr. (1965) II. 1028 The subject matter so evidently shewed it was to D., that it was only an artifice to whip the devil round the stump. 1798 W. Cobbett Porcupine's Gaz. June in (1801) VII. 248 The House of Representatives sit debating, hesitating, shilly-shally, whipping the devil round the post. 1816 M. L. Weems (ed. 4) 162 The rogues were drinking brandy all the time; but, by way of whipping the devil round the stump, they called it water; that is, apple water. 1841 7 July 132/3 Many men in the State Legislatures..have run their constituents so deeply in debt, that now they want to whip the devil around the stump, and get somebody else to tax them. 1885 W. D. Howells in July 372/2 If you think I'm going to help you whip the devil round the stump, you're mistaken in your man. 1903 13 Aug. 8704/2 That is a very difficult undertaking, for we know how railway companies and contractors whip the devil around the post, to use a popular expression. 2015 J. Kincaid iv. 44 He should have simply said good-night and gone to bed. Never one to beat the devil around the stump he continued. ‘I'll start.’ 1963 R. Mayne 92 On the principle that ‘the devil is in the details’, what should have been a merely formal occasion developed into a debate about the Community's official languages and the site of its headquarters. 1967 1 Feb. 9/1 There is a well-known saying in the Community [sc. the E.E.C.] that the principles are easy but the devil lies in the detail. 1978 29 Nov. 2/8 The fishing dispute is expected to be discussed.., though as one West German official has remarked: ‘The devil is in the detail.’ 2015 I. Ruiz iv. 73 The bad news is that the devil is in the detail; small details of the CSA agreement..can, in practice, complicate the implementation somewhat. a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xiii. 136 Seldom lyys the dewyll Dede by the gate. 1546 J. Heywood ii. v. sig. Hivv I wyll not beare the deuels sack, by saint Audry. 1553 T. Wilson i. f. 14 Euery man for hymselfe, and the deuil for vs al, catche that catche may. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo ii. sig. K8v The Prouerbe, That the Diuell is full of knowledge, because hee is olde. 1611 R. Cotgrave at Retirer To giue a thing and take a thing; to weare the diuells gold-ring. 1615 J. Swetnam i. 4 They thinke they haue gotten God by the hand, but within a while after they will finde that they haue but the Deuill by the foote. 1690 W. Walker 49 What is got over the devil's back is spent under his belly. 1693 W. Congreve i. i. 7 Ay there you've nick't it—there's the Devil upon Devil. a1704 T. Brown Lett. from Dead (new ed.) in (1707) II. ii. 86 We became as great Friends as the Devil and the Earl of Kent. 1720 D. Defoe 9 He that is Shipp'd with the Devil must sail with the Devil. 1732 T. Fuller 231 Truth makes the Devil blush. 1738 J. Swift 182 Well, since he's gone, the Devil go with him and Sixpence; and there's Money and Company too. 1738 J. Swift 159 I beg your Pardon; but they say, the Devil made Askers. 1822 Ld. Byron v. i. 427 Father, do not raise The devil you cannot lay between us. 1840 R. H. Barham Lay St. Dunstan in 1st Ser. 232 The Devil, they say, 'Tis easier at all times to raise than to lay. 1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud i. xvi, in 9 I will bury myself in my books, and the Devil may pipe to his own. 1892 E. Blake in 5 Aug. 3/4 Time enough to bid the Devil good morning when you meet him. 1974 16 Dec. a6/3 My father-in-law, a dyed-in-the-wool Southerner, used to say that whatever goes over the devil's back must come back up and under his belly! 1994 E. McNamee (1998) v. 47 He..put the barrel of the Browning against each man's forehead in turn and told them they had thirty seconds to tell the truth and shame the devil. 2016 (Nexis) 28 May 1 It's an unfortunate reality of this business that on occasion you must make a deal with the devil. P4. With a verb. the world > relative properties > order > disorder > become disordered [verb (intransitive)] > cause disorder 1542 A. Borde ix. sig. E.iii The malt worme playeth the deuyll so fast in the heade. a1592 R. Greene (1599) i. sig. B3 Burning Townes and sacking Cities faire, Doth play the diuell where some ere he comes. 1597 W. Shakespeare i. iii. 336 Seeme a Saint when most I play the Diuell . View more context for this quotation 1656 H. Jeanes 119 The word was incarnate, and shall we play the incarnate Divels? 1712 J. Swift 8 Mar. (1948) II. 508 A race of Rakes..that play the devil about this Town every Night. 1790 W. Combe II. viii. 42 She played the devil with her husband,—she now plays the devil with the man who keeps her,—and she will, one of these days, play the devil with herself. 1811 in Col. Hawker (1893) I. 35 I should have played the devil with his pheasants. 1826 W. Scott 15 Apr. (1939) 155 A bad report from that quarter would play the D——l. 1834 F. Marryat II. xix. 335 Salt water plays the devil with a uniform. 1839 C. Dickens xvi. 146 Your firm and determined intention..to play the devil with everything and everybody. 1901 S. Merwin & H. K. Webster ii. 20 It'll play the devil with us if we can't make good. 1985 S. Hood (1988) 112 The station porter..cast doubts on the possibility of getting much further that night. The weather had played the devil with the timetables. 1988 E. Fox-Genovese vi. 313 Lou Smith's mistress always played the devil when the master was away. 2004 G. Smith xviii. 99 He played the devil with those he disliked and for whom he had no tolerance. 1949 K. Ferrier June (2003) iii. 84 Here's an idea..! Catch morning plane..—stay three nights—fly back Monday morning... Howzat? Go on, be a devil! 1985 P. Ackroyd vi. 122 Go on, have a brandy snap. Be a devil. 2013 K. Archer ix. 63 Relax and enjoy yourselves. The kids are..shattered from skiing... Be a devil. Let's have a Jägerbomb. P5. Noun phrases. a. 1509 (title) The parlyament of deuylles. 1551 J. Bale f. xivv Thys acte of prestish maydenhede, was dysclosed first in Irelande by a parlement of deuyls. 1614 J. Taylor sig. C4v A damned Parliment of Deuils, Enacted lawes to fill the world with euils. 1746 W. R. Chetwood i. 13 The other [Parliament held in Coventry was] in the Reign of Henry VI. with a worse Title, Parliamentum Diabolicum, i.e. The Devil's Parliament. 1838 (LSE Sel. Pamphlets) 163 In 1459, Henry VI. here held the Parliament, which was designated by the Yorkists Parliamentum Diabolicum, or the Devil's Parliament, from the acts of attainder and severity passed against the Duke of York and many of his adherents. 1970 J. R. Lander in E. B. Fryde & E. Miller II. iii. 95 In spite of Friar Brackley's gossip about the ‘vengeable labour’ of the Lancastrians in the Parliament of Devils there are signs that Henry VI did not altogether approve of the proceedings of his friends. 1997 72 861 In his final chapter, on The Devils' Parliament, Marx gives a very telling example of a reader-turned-author who interferes with the themes of the text. b. devil on two sticks (also devil upon two sticks). [The expression was apparently popularized by its use as the title of several literary and dramatic productions in English, in some cases based on or alluding to L. Vélez de Guevara's Spanish satirical novel El Diablo cojuelo (1641) and also the French work based on it, A. R. Le Sage Le Diable boiteux (1707), both lit. ‘The Lame Devil’. Le Sage's work was translated into English as The Devil upon Two Sticks (1708).] 1680 M. Stevenson 2 You us'd a thousand wanton tricks, And play'd the Devil on two sticks. 1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais xxxvi. 141 I smell a Rat, there will be here the Devil upon two sticks, or I am much out. 1701 42 After all in Ninety Six, You Play'd the Devil on two Sticks; and when your Comrades Tyburn Snap't, But very Narrowly you Scap't. 1830 133 Cupid..playing at the Devil on two sticks, with two hearts. ‘Je me fais un jeu d'agiter les Cœurs.’ I amuse myself by agitating hearts. 1836 20 Oct. 12/1 The Devil on two sticks hopped in at the window, unobserved, and reported to us that a profound lawyer mumbled out ‘give them rope enough.’ 1853 B. Webster 9 The same Fishy that used to peep into first-floors for halfpence—a little devil on two sticks? 1982 R. Davies xiii. 131 We are quite accustomed to distinguished visitors here, but the Never-Too-Highly-To-Be Esteemed Asmodeus, the Devil on Two Sticks himself, is a catch even for us. 1995 Spring 13/4 He [sc. the picaresque hero] is the devil on two sticks, the spirit of anarchy which resides in everyone. 1840 Dr. Joy in A. Tweedie III. 264 To a singular variety of the bellows-murmur, of a remittent booming or whirring character, occasionally heard in chlorotic and nervous subjects..M. Bouillaud has given the fantastical name of ‘bruit de diable,’ from its similarity to the noise produced by the well-known French toy resembling a double humming top, called the ‘devil on two sticks’. 1844 ‘Ananke’ viii. 78 Bands of noisy wind instruments, turkish chiropodists, monkies ‘a horseback’, dancing bears, girls, dogs, devils on two sticks, punches, merry andrews, whirligigs round. 1855 B. Peirce xii. 453 A convenient type of this class of motion may be found in the familiar toy called the devil on two sticks. 1937 26 Aug. 49/1 The next big craze was Diabolo, or Devil-on-two-sticks. 2006 (Nexis) 6 July g12 It's based around the diabolo, a toy evolved from the yo-yo over 4,000 years ago and referred to as ‘the devil on two sticks’. c. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > buttercup and allied flowers > allied flowers 1722 T. Fairchild ii. 33 The Nigila-Romana, or as some have it, the Devil in the Bush, is rather an odd Plant, than beautiful in its Flower. 1837 M. Boddington I. v. 79 That pretty blue flower which may, perhaps, have a gentler name than devil-in-the-bush—the one I used to know it by in my childhood. 1992 M. Margetts 152/1 Nigella..is known as love-in-a-mist when in flower and devil-in-a-bush when the flower has become a seed-pod. d. 1853 20 Aug. Les diables sur candres [read cendres] à l'Australie, or devils on the coals, were pronounced exquisite by the aristocratic gourmands. 1862 A. Polehampton 77 Instead of damper we occasionally made what is colonially known as ‘devils on the coals’. 1934 12 July 8/3 Another sort of bread, used much by people travelling, and needing something that would cook quickly, were ‘Johnny Cakes’, or ‘devils on the coals’. 1999 R. Annear viii. 107 For a quick breakfast on the road, or for a taste of the exotic without resorting to bear grease, there were ‘devils on the coals’. †e. 1865 1 324 The extremely prickly nature of the carpels has earned for it [sc. Ranunculus arvensis] the curious local name of ‘Devil o' both sides’. 1878 J. Britten & R. Holland 148 Devil on both sides or Devil o' both sides, Ranunculus arvensis L. Bucks., Durh., Warw. 1920 W. E. Brenchley 221 Corn buttercup,..devil-on-both-sides, devil's claws, [etc.]. f. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > bread with spread or filling > [noun] > canape 1885 3 Jan. His motive for leaving the Reform [Club] was because the devils on horseback are not hot enough. 1963 R. McDouall 228 Devils on horseback are much the same [as canapés diane], except that a stoned prune is substituted for the chicken-livers. 2004 20 Sept. 16/2 There are Devils on Horseback: rich nuggets of Stilton-stuffed prunes, wrapped in bacon and served burning hot. Compounds In most compounds given here, devil may have either a lower-case initial or (esp. when used with specific reference to Satan) a capital initial; compounds are listed below under the predominant or standard form. C1. OE (1992) iv. 96 Næs he gytsere ne strudere ne ofermod ne niðig ne leasfyrhð, ne deofulcræftas ne lufode he. lOE tr. Alcuin De Virtutibus et Vitiis (Vesp.) in R. D.-N. Warner (1917) 105 Þiss deofolcynn ne mæig man ut aweorpen ne oferswiðen bute mid fæsten & mid gebeden. 1603 S. Harsnett xxiii. 150 Our Dæmonopoiïa or Devill-fiction is Tragico-Comœdia, a mixture of both as Amphitryo in Plautus is. 1727 D. Defoe i. ii. 52 Any Sorcery or Devil-work. 1823 ‘G. Smith’ 321 Fear of the more skilful devil-master. a1843 R. Southey (1849) 2nd Ser. 400/1 They struggled till fire issued from eyes, nostrils, and mouth of the poor devil-hive. 1985 59 114 Frightened and threatened by cult practices, Europeans nevertheless permitted ‘devil practices’ to take place. 2009 42 112 Their ‘churchgoing’ implies that Clarence's sixth sense resembles devil work or the supernatural. lOE Homily: De Inclusis (Corpus Cambr. 303) in D. G. Scragg (1992) 174 Sum deofelgast sæde sumen ancre eall helle geryn & hire tintrege. c1330 (?a1300) (1886) l. 1451 Þe deuel dragouns hide Was hard so ani flint. 1576 G. Pettie 165 O diuel woman, that will doe more for golde then goodwill? 1582 F. H. tr. P. Viret sig. f.5 They haue serued the diuell goddes that they haue forged of their owne braine. 1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine iv. xvi. 176 Such a rable of diuell-gods. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher ii. i. 22 That Diuell Monke, Hopkins. View more context for this quotation 1629 J. Shirley iii. i Thy devil jailor May trust thee without a waiter. 1639 J. Shirley v. sig. I3v My eldest divell sister. 1720 A. Petrie 108 Which Remedy was prescribed by his own Devil Gods. 1777 W. Aldridge 17 The gods of the Heathen were false gods; dunghill gods, or devil gods. 1892 B. F. C. Costelloe 13 A Devil-giant coercing hapless lives. 1920 E. Anderson 257 Most certainly, I am afraid of devil-spirits. I would not sleep here for riches. 1943 28 78 Offering sacrificial appeasement to the devil-god Mandinga. 1996 14 Feb. 45/4 Why do the characters in Jumanji persist in playing an ancient board game that brings giant mosquitoes and devil-monkeys billowing out of thin air! 1535 Dan. ii. D The sorcerer, the charmer nor the deuell coniurer. 1603 S. Harsnett xv. 82 This deuil-killing vertue did not lye in the priests head onely. 1682 E. Hickeringill iii. 16 The Pope would be a Devil-driver too. 1699 B. E. Devil-drawer, a sorry Painter. 1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo 379 There is a Devil ferking Priest. 1751 G. Lavington 231 These Men, who are called Enchanters, Devil-Drivers, and Prophesyers. 1787 T. Swift iii. 61 The devil-driving quality of these buttons so completely expelled all his vices, that..he rose the next morning purified of all his sins. 1852 B. Thorpe III. 240 At the first boiling of the water, a female neighbour came in running and crying out: ‘Ye devil-casters! ye devil-casters!’ 1873 2 174 The doctor or devil-chaser is a person of great influence among other tribes as well as his own. The art of devil-chasing is considered a natural gift. 1886 29 Dec. 6/2 A refusal to pay the fee charged by a ‘devil extractor’ for the cure of a mental disease. 1920 S. Lewis xx. 241 I refuse to subject him to any devil-chasing rites! 1926 Apr. 479/1 Our pastors and pious brethren, and..the professional devil-chasers who were imported as reinforcements from time to time. 1987 44 119 Their kinteyaken or devil-chasing has been described sufficiently by the writer. OE xv. 173 Petrus..deoflum bebead þæt hie of deofolseocum mannum utferdon. 1603 S. Harsnett 62 It was wisely cauteled..why Sara..should be more Devil-haunted then any of the possessed Men. 1607 E. Topsell 20 The Asse..is..phrased with many epithites..as, slow..ydle, deuill-haired. 1707 G. Hickes Pref. p. clxxxviii He may..regale his..Devil-ridden Mind. 1829 R. Southey II. 108 Men become priest-ridden or devil-ridden. a1849 T. L. Beddoes Death's Jest-bk. iv. iii, in (1851) II. 117 Ha! I am Devil-inspired: out with you, ye fool's thoughts! 1850 Ld. Tennyson xciv. 142 You tell me, doubt is Devil -born. View more context for this quotation 1860 Ld. Lytton ii. v Scorn and hate..are devil born things. 1888 16 June 125/1 A devil-inspired cult. 1898 R. Kipling in 2 July 15/2 Afraid of the devil-haunted beach of noises. 1899 20 Sept. 3/3 Then came the famous devil-possessed district. 1906 R. Whiteing ix. 59 The devil-driven and purposeful way in which people do most things in this part of the world. 1922 W. B. Yeats ii. viii. 108 The only Young Ireland politician who had music and personality, though rancorous and devil-possessed. 1926 M. Leinster ii. i Jack is lonely, wretched, devil-driven. 1971 44 153 These treatises deal with man's personal devil-inspired bent for vice. 2016 N. Rust 11 The creature then..gave Patrick the briefest devil-eyed stare. C2. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [noun] > action of causing disadvantage > injurious advocacy 1854 F. D. Maurice (ed. 2) II. v. 119 The claims of Proclus to canonisation in spite of our devil-advocacy. 1811 R. Seppings et al. Let. 1 Apr. in (1814) Apr. 236 With respect to the devil-bolts, as they are termed, or false clenches, we conceive the act so truly criminal that we are humbly of the opinion that the legislature should provide a punishment proportionate to the offence. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher 245 Devil-bolts, those with false clenches, often introduced into contract-built ships. 1894 30 Nov. 7/5 The ‘devil-bolt’ swindle must have been the death of many a brave crew. 1910 A. K. P. Wingate iii. viii. 107 The parson preaches but does not convert; the professor lectures, but does not convince either himself or other people; the shipbuilder builds, but puts in devil-bolts. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > gun carriage > [noun] 1794 15–17 July Covered waggons for ammunition 11, carts for carrying stores 6, Devil carriages 2. 1828 J. M. Spearman 426 Devil carriage, 7 ft.; Sling cart, 5 ft. 6 in. 2003 C. Henry II. (caption) 5 The devil carriage was a simple form of transport, which could be used to move many different artillery items. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > gun carriage > [noun] 1797 Ld. Nelson Let. 6 June in (1846) VII. Addenda p. cxxxix I want..two or three artillerymen..to fix the fusees, and a devil-cart. 1827 J. T. Jones (ed. 2) II. 454 Two travelling forges. Seven field service limbers, and one battery. One devil cart. 1877 (Woolwich Royal Mil. Acad.) ii. 49 Timber felled in making clearings has often to be removed for defensive use; any wagons are convenient for carrying small trees and brushwood, but for heavy logs devil-carts are best. the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > [noun] > that deals with demons a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xlvii. 9 The huge hardnesse of thi deuel cleperes [L. incantatorum]. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > suborder Brachyura (crab) > member of Portunidae (lady-crab) 1871 C. Darwin I. ii. ix. 332 A Devil-crab (Portunus puber) was seen..fighting with a Carcinus mænas, and the latter was soon thrown on its back, and had every limb torn from its body. 1873 12 Aug. Five devil crabs, $1.25; steaks, $2.50; omelette, $2.50. 1906 F. W. Headley vii. 193 In two Devil Crabs also (Portunus puber) experiment detected a power of learning. 1974 Aug. 129/3 (advt.) Delicious seafood recipes, spiced shrimp, steamed and devil crabs. 2011 (Nexis) 6 Jan. a7 40,000 velvet swimming crabs (also known as devil crabs) wash up on the Kent coast after dying from hypothermia in freezing sea. 1849 R. Caldwell 19 The musical instruments..chiefly used in the devil-dance are the tom-tom..and the horn. 1901 R. Kipling ix. 212 He had seen [Tibetan] devil-dance masks at the Lahore Museum. 1930 G. Knight 29 The Devil Dances of Tibet..represent either some historical, legendary, or mythological event. 2006 38 107 Shawn learned a Singhalese Devil Dance from native dancers at Kandy. 1827 Jan. 54 When it has been decided that sickness arises from the malignant influence of a devil, the assistance of a Yak-desa, (devil-dancer,) or priest of the devil, is requested. 1887 14 Sept. 14/1 They were followed [in a Perahera procession in Kandy] by the devil-dancers, who were terribly affected. 1939 5 3 The [Apache] girl or girls for whom the ceremony is given dance around the fire, each preceded and followed by a Devil Dancer. 1998 45 186 Mexican death images: an eighteenth-century painting of a deceased nun, contemporary masked death and devil dancers, an ancient decorated skull. 1837 D. J. Gogerly Let. 21 Aug. in (1838) Apr. 304 People on occasions like these listen with more attention and good temper when the evil of Budhism, of devil-dancing, and of superstitious ceremonies is told, and when the truths of the word of God are declared. 1871 S. Mateer (1872) 214 Connected with this is what is called devil-dancing, in which the demoniacal possession is sought. 1988 4 33/2 Between them, they describe the history of the village [in Venezuela] and explain how Devil Dancing is organised. the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > [noun] > that deals with demons 1727 D. Defoe i. i. 33 The Magicians were not all Sorcerers and Devil-dealers. ?1734 ‘Pilgrim Plowden’ 166 By the spight of that cain-countenanc'd old devil-dealer was this arrest procur'd. 1830 Nov. 587 The bishop, we are told, prosecuted these dunghill devil-dealers with all his vengeance. 1900 Jan. 37 But body-stealer, coiner, or devil-dealer, one thing was certain, Kelly ‘saw’. 2012 (Nexis) 13 Oct. (Arts & Life section) 7 The original devil dealer, Dr. Faustus. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] 1831 D. Tyerman & G. Bennet II. xxxvi. 156 A man who had a distracting pain in his head was found lying on the ground, and his wife standing upon the afflicted part with both her feet, to drive out the devil-devil—the reduplication of the term signifying the great devil. 1844 L. Leichhardt 6 Nov. (1847) 32 Rich black soil, which appeared several times in the form of ploughed land, well known, in other parts of the colony, either under that name, or under that of ‘Devil-devil land’, as the natives believe it to be the work of an evil spirit. 1900 H. Lawson 108 Black Jimmie shifted away from the hut [of the dead woman]..for the ‘devil-devil’ sat down there. 1933 20 Dec. 34/1 The alternation of wet seasons or floodings on the one hand and of droughts on the other induces characteristic alternations of depressions and rises in heavy soils. These have received various local names, of which melonhole, gilgai, Bay of Biscay, devil-devil and crab-hole are the most frequently met. 1955 N. Pulliam 116 Opened the throttle and drove through the devil-devil country. 1989 J. Thomson iv. 51 The older people frightened the others with stories of the devil-devil. 1939 85 212 All these materials..should be covered with a pricking-up coat, well scratched, a floating coat, ‘devilled’ with a ‘devil float’, and a finishing coat, hard trowelled. 1870 C. D. Warner 179 Every man must eradicate his own devil-grass. 1917 115 Wherever Bermuda or ‘Devil’ grass is present use every endeavor to get as much as possible of it rooted out entirely before the Spring rains. 2013 V. Combie vi. 32 I would weed the bush and devil grass with my little hoe. society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [noun] > finger gesture > other finger gestures society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > bone or horn > [noun] > horn > types of 1854 9 Aug. 1/3 Intelligent men will pretend to swallow a little of your devil-horns, cow-tail, cloven-hoof, and brimstone nonsense. 1927 3 June 1024/3 Animal life is also represented, with creatures that beggar identification... An eagle with devil horns hovers over one entry. 1958 19 May 62/2 There are many items calculated to alter the wearer's appearance in a shocking way... He can stick a vacuum blister third eye on his forehead, or don a pair of devil horns. 1985 May 56/2 Michael flashes his index finger in the ‘one way’ gesture... No index-and-pinky-finger ‘devil horns’ here. 2005 C. Dwyer xxix. 169 Johnny raised a bottle of beer to him.., using his other hand to give him devil horns. 1893 28 Feb. 362/1 If this water—called ‘devil liquor’—were not cooled before it escaped, a large quantity of sulphuretted hydrogen would be given off. 1898 6 A second difficulty has also been experienced in dealing with the condensed liquor from the foul gas—appropriately termed ‘devil liquor’. 1912 T. E. Thorpe (ed. 2) I. 149/1 The aqueous condensate obtained by cooling the waste gases [from ammonium sulphate manufacture] is a very noxious-smelling liquid, and is hence termed ‘devil-liquor’. 1989 8 61/1 The plant ‘is spraying devil liquor on molten slag which has not cooled sufficiently’. 2012 A. W. Hatheway 1142 Devil liquor is circulated until its ammonia content is reduced below acceptable limits and then is managed as effluent. the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > [noun] > that deals with demons 1676 31 Devilmongers..shall never be able to evade the guilt. 1702 J. Dunton i. 45 Several Modern Devil-Mongers..came to assist at the blackest Ceremonies that were in Hell. 1843 E. Bulwer-Lytton I. i. vii. 117 Those devil-mongers can bake ye a dozen such every moment. 1919 J. B. Cabell xiii. 88 I estimate that Arthur's ambassadors, probably the devil-mongers themselves, will come for my daughter before June is out. 1984 26 Nov. c4/5 Banners denounced him as a devil-monger. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. iii. 16 Ile Deuill-Porter it no further. View more context for this quotation 1832 T. Brown I. 318 Cephaloptera diabolis.—The Devil Ray. 1862 Jan. 157/1 The inhabitants of the Society Islands kill the Devil Ray with harpoons, and employ its raw skin to rasp their wood work. 1912 F. Rolt-Wheeler vii. 273 The pointed fin jerked suddenly and a third of the gigantic shape heaved itself into the air as the devil ray whirled. 1974 15 114/1 The lesser devil ray, Mobula hypostoma, has been infrequently reported from the western North Atlantic. 2007 16 Nov. 18/5 The giant devil ray, whose female can grow to five metres (17 feet) and give birth to just one pup per pregnancy, is on the ‘endangered’ list. 1878 J. C. Atkinson in 2 330 In the district of Cleveland..the following names are in use... Swift. Devil-shrieker. 1907 T. H. Nelson I. 264 Its cries give it the name of Screecher,..Devil Screamer and Devil Squeaker in the North and West Ridings, and Devil Shrieker in the West Riding. 2014 T. Sharrock 57 Several of the Swift's old country names reflect these screams and the bird's all dark plumage: Screecher, Screamer, Jack Squealer,..Devil Shrieker, Devil Squealer and Devil's Bitch, for instance. 1878 2 387 Corrections of Errors—In the Rev. J. C. Atkinson's Yorkshire list.., the local name..for the Swift, ‘Devil-skriker’ (‘no Cleveland person ever says “shriek”, always “skrike”’). 1964 24 May b2/3 All types of baton routines will be presented, such as two-baton, flag, fire, dragon tails and devil sticks. 1992 D. Finnigan (U.K. ed.) Gloss. 566 Double sticking, a method for keeping a devil stick moving by hitting the central stick with both hand sticks at the same time—one on top, and one below. 1994 R. Smith iv. 43 Pimply young skinheads were playing with devil sticks, juggling one stick in the air with two others. 2008 10 Mar. 186/2 There will be juggling, diabolo, devil sticks, spinning plates, and clowning. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore I. 45 Alstonia scholaris, called Devil-tree or Pali-mara about Bombay. 1892 G. J. A. Skeen (ed. 3) 38 In the gardens of other houses may be seen fine specimens of the devil tree (Alstonia scholaris). 2002 25 216/2 We found nests in eight species of trees, among which the Devil Tree (Alstonia scholaris) (28%) and Kadam (Anthocephalus cadamba) (21%) were most frequently used. 1810 F. A. Michaux I. 40 Olea americana. Devil wood. 1844 D. Lee & J. H. Frost vii. 81 A species of maple called green-maple, or ‘devil-wood’, remarkable for its toughness. 1938 W. R. Van Dersal 175 Devilwood..often occurs in sandy soil. 2003 F. Tenenbaum 282/4 Devilwood is unlike other osmanthus in having a more open and loose habit. society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of devils, demons, or the Devil 1533 T. More iv. p. lvii Glotony, couetyse, & pryde, deuyll worshyp and selfe slaughter. 1645 F. Rous 7 He may..ferret the Devils and Devil-worship out of their holes and dennes. 1719 D. Defoe 150 Idolatry and Devil Worship. 1841 T. Arnold 462 Faith without reason, is..mere power worship; and power worship may be devil worship. 1959 F. Chodorov xii. 111 The religion of socialism will come into its own, its devotees maintain, only when the devil worship of capitalism is done in. 2003 (Nexis) 1 June 16 The practice of palmistry was forced underground by the Catholic Church which branded it devil worship. society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of devils, demons, or the Devil > practitioner of 1790 J. Bruce III. xii. 598 He has been talking with the old devil-worshipper ever since we arrived. 1879 M. D. Conway I. 137 The devil-worshippers of Travancore to this day declare that the evil power approaches them in the form of a Dog. 1998 29 Oct. 14/3 Modern practitioners of Wicca, a pagan religion that predates Christianity, often fear being branded as ‘devil-worshippers’. society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [noun] > of devils, demons, or the Devil 1677 W. Walker xvii. 297 Antichristianism, and..Devil-worshipping. 1680 R. Baxter xi. 329 How false is a Devil-worshipping-Pope..in comparison of all his Neighbor-Bishops? 1849 A. H. Layard I. ix. 273 I was naturally anxious to ascertain the amount of responsibility which I might incur, in standing godfather to a devil-worshipping baby. 1891 9 Sept. 4/3 Buddhas, praying machines and devil worshipping in Siam would be exhibited. 1964 1 19 He..noted words of the black mass: devil worshipping is another form of magic. 2009 40 273 The wild conspiracy theory involving devil-worshipping witches. 1726 D. Defoe ii. xi. 386 Wormwood, Storax, Devilwort, Mandrake, Nightshade. C3. Compounds with devil's. Sometimes with the (as the Devil's); cf. sense 1. a. OE Homily (Corpus Cambr. 162) in D. G. Scragg (1992) 340 Ðis syndon..þa ehta heafodleahtras mid heora herium..; & hi synd swiðe strange deofles cempen ongean mennisc cynn. OE Homily: Sermo ad Populum Dominicis Diebus (Lamb. 489) in A. S. Napier (1883) 298 Se þe deofles worc begæð, he is deofles man, and he scel mid deofle wunian on helle. c1175 ( Ælfric Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine (1993) 65 He is deofles sunu, ðe þe deofles weorc wyrcð. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 31 Adam wass wurrþenn deofless þeoww..& all þatt streonedd wass þurrh himm Wass streonedd..To ben unnderr deofless þeowwdom. c1225 (?c1200) (Royal) (1981) l. 883 Hwil þe king weol al in-wið of wreððe come aburh-reue as þe þet wes þes deoules budel belial of helle. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 9755 Foure of þe deueles limes, is kniȝtes hurde this. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1877) §651 After this comth the synne of Iaperes, that been the deueles Apes, for they maken folk to laughe [etc.]. c1450 J. Capgrave (Bodl. 423) (1911) 87 (MED) I am þat same..þat be þe labour of seynt seraphia hath brout me fro þe onclennesse of þe delues power on to þe fredam of our lord. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville (Vitell.) l. 13930 (MED) Tyl he ffalle in the dewellys snare. 1530 J. Palsgrave 214/2 Divelles worke, diablerie. 1641 J. Milton 15 For Anti-christ wee know is but the Devils Vicar. 1675 T. Brooks Word in Season 215 in Balaam..who was the Devils Hackney. 1741 S. Richardson III. xxxii. 223 Such another Example..would go near..to ruin the Devil's Kingdom in Bedfordshire. 1827 W. Scott 16 Mar. (1939) 34 I had the devil's work finding them. 1855 G. J. Whyte-Melville II. xv. 25 His wives..yowlin', and cryin', and kickin' up the devil's delight. 1859 H. Kingsley v We had better be as comfortable as we can this devil's night. 1884 E. M. Beal in May 323/1 The newly discovered ‘devil's liquor’, starch. 1952 R. Graves (rev. ed.) xi. 196 The Devil's blessing, still used by the Frisian Islanders, consists in raising the fore-finger and ear-finger of the right hand, with the other fingers folded against the palm. 2005 31 Oct. 33/4 The belief of Christian America that the holiday [sc. Hallowe'en] is the devil's work. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1877) §791 Swiche yeueres of chirches putten out the children of Crist and putten in to the chirche the deueles owene sone. a1535 T. More (1553) iii. sig. Fiiv For withoute question the deuils owne dede it is to bring vs by hys temptacion with feare and force thereof into eternall damnacion. ?1548 J. Bale ii. sig. Bijv Where are these vyllen knaues? The deuyls owne kychyn slaues. ?c1640 W. Rowley et al. (1658) iv. i. 41 Now an old woman Ill favour'd grown with yeers, if she be poor, Must be call'd Bawd or Witch. Such so abus'd Are the course Witches: t'other [sc. flirtacious ladies at court] are the fine, Spun for the Devil's own wearing. 1729 No. 4. 38 The Vulgar have it by Tradition, that Cards are the Devil's own Invention, for which Reason..they are and have been called the Devil's Books. 1827 June 833 She..hated rum as the devil's own brewage. 1845 B. Disraeli III. vi. iii. 176 A fellow in a blue coat fetches you the Devil's own con on your head. 1892 E. Lawless I. ii. iv. 184 It was the devil's own abuse he got from his wife..for letting her fine spring chickens be drowned on her. 1938 8 Sept. 1/2 Our friends of the New Deal have the devil's own nerve when it comes to working both sides of the street. 1989 O. Senior 18 They had the devil's own time getting her out of the hole but they managed it for by this time she weighed so little. 2006 (Nexis) 6 May 91 We have buyers coming from all over Australia..and we are having the devil's own trouble trying to meet demand. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > die or dice 1597 H. Clapham sig. Eiij A payre of Cards (the Deuels common seruice booke). 1618 T. Taylor 125 Many..cannot tell how to passe their time, but by taking in hand the deuills bookes and bones (as one calleth them) cards and dice. 1664 G. Etherege ii. iii. 29 I do not understand Dice... Hang the Devil's bones. 1738 J. Swift 194 Damn your Cards, said he, they are the Devil's Books. 1786 R. Burns Twa Dogs xxxiii, in 21 They..wi' crabbet leuks, Pore owre the devil's pictur'd beuks. 1822 W. Scott II. xii. 303 A gamester, one who deals with the devil's bones. 1861 W. M. Thackeray iv. 202 What hours, what nights, what health did he waste over the devil's books! 1913 D. H. Lawrence i. 20 Morel never in his life played cards,..‘the devil's pictures’, he called them! 1927 W. E. Collinson 31 My father..jocularly referred to the cards as the Devil's picture-gallery. 1965 28 May 16/6 He brought up his family with obsessive severity..habitually speaking of playing cards as the ‘devil's books’. 2005 (Nexis) 31 Oct. 57 Indulging in otherwise seemingly innocent activities, such as playing dice (the devil's bones) or having a game of cards using the devil's picture books. b. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > card of specific number and suit > four of clubs 1837 F. Chamier II. i. 19 As far back as memory can trace, the four of clubs has been called ‘the devil's bed-post’. 1874 (rev. ed.) 142 Devil's bed-posts, the four of clubs. 1879 5th Ser. 12 473 I have always heard the four of clubs called the devil's bed-post, and also that it is the worst turn-up one could have. 1910 19 Feb. 445/2 Old-fashioned players always called the Four of Clubs ‘the devil's bed-post’. 2006 L. Klepinger xii. 123 Manion gets the devil's bedposts, four of clubs. No apparent help. Clarence gets a ten. Porky gets another fucking Ace. 1791 July 15/1 He threw up 13,..the Devil's dozen. 1837 Dec. 741/1 These fortunate ministers would meet the first Parliament of the new reign with a majority so narrow that it is still debated whether it consists of five, twenty-five, or a devil's dozen. 1917 28 239 The number in a covine was thirteen, twelve witches and the officer, i.e. the Devil's dozen. 1985 9 110 The shaman's twelvefold evocation..grouped and graded everything within twelve archetypes... A devil's dozen, plus the berserk who counts them. 1996 C. I. Macafee 95/2 Devil's dozen, thirteen. 1892 9 Sept. It was in the culinary department and the awards were:..Angel's food—Mrs. Doty; Mrs. McBride. Devils' food—Mrs. Doty; Mrs. McBride. 1898 5 May 115/2 (heading) Devil's Food Cake and Icing. 1903 21 Oct. 1322/1 I'll make a devil's food cake that will astonish her. 1932 Feb. 144/1 Rich chicken-salad sandwiches, a meal in themselves, and devil's food cup-cakes with creamy pecan icing. 1974 30 May 9/4 Bicarbonate of soda and buttermilk act as a raising agent, as well as giving the cake a dark reddish colour—not unlike an American devil's food cake. 2012 E. Laybourne (2013) xxvii. 275 For dessert we made three cakes: yellow with chocolate frosting, devil's food with marshmallow icing, and a pink cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > pain in specific parts > [noun] > in side 1888 96 490 So agonizing was this pain that it was nicknamed the ‘devil's grip’ by a sufferer from the disease in Rappahannock County, Virginia, and this name became a common one there afterwards. 1924 168 569 Devil's grip..is certainly due to an acute infection, and the recurrences seem like those of a protozoan infection. 1962 21 Nov. 1/3 Mr. Duncan Sandys..has Bornholm disease, it was said last night. The disease is also known as ‘Devil's Grip’. 2014 S. D. Waldman (ed. 3) vi. lx. 178 Devil's grip is an uncommon cause of chest pain. ?1592 sig. A.iii She would not confesse any thing vntill the Diuels marke was found vpon her priuities. 1628 in (1860) II. 37 Quha saw ane prene put to the heid be Mr Johnne Aird, minister, in the panellis schoulder being the devills mark and na bluid following [etc.]. 1661 in R. Pitcairn (1833) III. 602 The Magistrat and Minister caused Johne Kincaid, the comon pricker, to prik hir, and found tuo marks upon hir, which he called the Devill his markis. 1716 A. M. P. du Noyer II. xxvii. 62 He was narrowly search'd to find what they call the Devil's Mark. 1885 W. Ross xi. 328 ‘Who’, you say, ‘was the Brodder?’.. His office was to settle the question, whether those accused of being witches were so or not..by searching for the ‘devil's mark’ on their bodies, by ‘brodding’ or pricking it with a sharp needle. 1995 C. Sagan x. 182 As in satanic ritual abuse claims (and echoing ‘Devil's marks’ in the witch trials), the most common physical evidence pointed to are scars and ‘scoop marks’ on the bodies of abductees. 2014 3 208 The Devil's mark, made when he drew blood or milk from the witch, seems to have derived from academic demonology. society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > kinds of rite > satanic > [noun] a1593 C. Marlowe (c1600) sig. B4 Stay that bel that to ye deuils mattins rings. 1819 W. Scott II. vi. 90 What devil's mattins are you after at this hour? 1845 Jan. 402 What devil's matins do you hold here; and where tarries Sir Geoffrey Curbspine? 1680 M. Godwyn i. 41 Both without doubt contrived in Hell, receiving their first impressions in no other than the Devil's Mint, purposely designed for the murthering of Souls. 1776 B. Victor II. 171 These [coins] were all coined in the devil's mint! a1825 R. Forby (1830) Devil's-mint, an inexhaustible abundance and succession of things hurtful or offensive, as if the devil himself were at work coining them. 1834 T. Hood (1835) xviii. 127 Partly in doubt whether he ought to accept it [sc. the coin] from a distressed gentlewoman, and partly in fear that the money was from the Devil's mint, and would burn a hole in his pocket. 1921 J. L. C. Garnett 17 The devil's mint where the billions grow From blood and wound, disgrace and woe,—Have we taught to our bad neighbor. 1930 24 July 9/2 The doctrine..of trying to get peace by preparing for war is a lie coined in the Devil's mint. 1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo 66 The Inhabitants had been persuaded that we were the Devil's Missionaries [Fr. des Missionnaires du démon]. 1789 June 545/1 He and his companions were exposed from the fury of the populace, who looked upon the Jesuits with horror, as the devil's missionaries come to pervert them from the true faith. 1837 E. G. Wakefield ii. 31 [The lawless renegade Englishmen] really deserve a name which has been given them—that of ‘Devil's missionaries’. 1839 xxix. 474 [Low types, vagabonds, etc.,] devil's missionaries as they are appropriately called. 1857 5 Dec. Has he forgotten the influence which Mr. E. J. Wakefield's early career had on native morals, has he forgotten the strong designation of the ‘Devil's Missionary’ which Governor Fitzroy applied to that Gentleman? 1877 H. Van Laun tr. V. Hugo in III. vi. iii. 43 [Voltaire], that ape of genius, sent as the devil's missionary to man. 1914 G. L. Morrill 166 The white-slaver is the Devil's missionary who lays nets which Lucretia cannot avoid and gives baits and bribes that move Penelope. 2000 M. S. Shull ii. 106/2 Blotchi, the devil's missionary from Russia, is juxtaposed with pictures of a blood-drenched butcher knife. 1840 Jan. 92/1 This choice of a saint subsequently received a confirmation by the Volunteers raised in the inns of court at the time of Buonaparte's threatened invasions. They were called the ‘Devil's Own’. 1864 M. Lemon 211 At a review of the volunteers..the Devil's Own walked straight through. 1893 21 Jan. 2/3 ‘What! what!’ exclaimed his Majesty [George III in 1803], ‘all lawyers! all lawyers! Call them the Devil's Own—call them the Devil's Own’..the fighting gentlemen of the long robe have been the ‘Devil's Own’ ever since. 1914 40 492/1 There is one ‘Devil's Own’ regiment to-day, the 88th Connaught Rangers. 2005 J. Bowen & D. Bowen iii. 44 An enthusiasm that gained eleven battle honours in the Peninsula while earning their nickname ‘the Devil's Own’. the mind > goodness and badness > state of being accursed > curse > [noun] > as everyday imprecation > muttered the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [noun] > oaths other than religious or obscene > imprecations c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1877) §508 Yet wol they seyn harm and grucche and murmure priuely..whiche wordes men clepen the deueles Pater noster. c1450 (c1400) (Huntington) (1942) 65 (MED) He gruccheþ aȝens God and syngeþ þe pater noster also, but forsoþe it is þe deueles pater noster. 1530 J. Palsgrave 642/1 I murmure, I make a noyse, I bydde the dyuels Pater noster. 1546 J. Heywood i. xi. sig. E Pattryng the diuels pater noster to her selfe. 1693 W. Congreve iv. iv. 40 O monstrous! A Prayer-Book? Ay, this is the Devil's Pater-noster. Hold, let me see; The Innocent Adultery. 1892 152/2 Not seldom the master of a house piously says grace before dinner, and then a veritable devil's paternoster of grumbling as he partakes of each dish that succeeds it. 1909 E. J. Hardy xxi. 211 Why should we use ‘the devil's paternoster’, as grumbling has been called, rather than Te Deums? 1493 (c1410) (Pynson) i. v. sig. aiiiiv/1 Make ye the pore men your frendes of the deuelsheue [a1450 Bodl. Th d.36 deuelshene, 1496 de Worde deuyllessheyf, 1536 Berthelet dyuelleshef] either richesses of wyckednes. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > repeated sound or succession of sounds > [noun] > regular or alternating rhythm > drumming > of fingers 1755 J. Kidgell II. 61 Down she set herself,..beating the Devil's Tattoo with her Foot upon the Frame of a Table incessantly for two Hours. 1801 M. Edgeworth II. xvii. 164 Mrs. Freke beat the devil's tattoo for some moments. 1826 B. Disraeli I. ii. ii. 92 The Peer sat in a musing mood, playing the Devil's tattoo on the library table. 1872 H. Spencer (ed. 2) II. viii. iv. 544 Beating the ‘devil's tattoo’ with the fingers on the table, is a recognized mark of impatience. 1905 G. K. Chesterton i. 38 The frantic Brown, whose hand was beating the frantic devil's tattoo on the back of the chair. 2002 D. Toole xv. 148 For several moments Desroches beat a devil's tattoo on the desk with his fingers. c. In the names of plants (typically ones which are toxic, malodorous, or considered to be troublesome weeds) and their products. See also devil's-bit n., devil's claw n. 3a, devil's darning-needle n. 2, and devil's milk n.the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Solanaceae (nightshade and allies) > [noun] > thorn-apple or brugmansia 1759 W. Lewis tr. C. Neumann 351 Colocynth or Coloquintida is the fruit of a plant of the Gourd kind, growing plentifully in Persia, differing from other Gourds..in the quality of the fruit, which is so intensely bitter as to have received the names of Gall of the Earth, Bitter Apple, Devil's Apple, &c. 1811 7 Jan. 124/2 (note) The root of Stramonium..Vulgarly called Apple Pera, Devil's Apple, and Stink Weed. 1916 M. E. Parsons (new ed.) 97 This plant is also called ‘mad-apple’, ‘apple of Peru’, and ‘Devil's apple’. 1999 E. Small & P. M. Catling 106/2 The devil is commemorated in numerous names of plants that have been used medicinally..: devil's apple (Datura stramonium L.), devil's bit (Liatris squarrulosa Michx., and Scabiosa succisa L.), [etc.]. 1835 E. Hitchcock (ed. 2) iv. 649 Laminaria..saccharina, Agardh. Kelp. Devil's Apron. 1847 J. R. Lowell Let. 25 July in (1932) 20 The number of devils'-aprons thrown up on the beach... I suggest..these portions of the pandemoniac wardrobe are repaired with devil's-darningneedles when they are torn upon the rocks. 1913 C. W. Townsend xi. 267 These [sc. sea mussels] are generally cast up on the beach after a storm, tightly embraced in the roots of large devil's aprons. 2008 L. M. Flynn 245 It's the smaller weeds, the winged kelp, sea palm, turkish towel, devil's apron, sealace, and tangle that flaunt their colors. 1862 C. Bede in 1 Nov. 342/1 The natives [of the Black Country]..look upon them [sc. ferns] with a superstitious feeling, think it bad luck to gather them (even for fuel) or to touch them, and call them by the singular name of ‘the Devil's Brushes’. I have been unable to get at the why and the wherefore of this; but it may possibly have something to do with the belief that fern-seed will produce invisibility. 1903 15 Aug. 238/2 The name of Devil's Brushes is bestowed upon the few ferns that are hardy enough to flourish in that locality. 1961 C. Hole (rev. ed.) 158 In some parts of England, they are considered Devil's plants, and are known as Devil's Brushes. 1878 J. Britten & R. Holland 148 Devil's Candlesticks, Nepeta Glechoma. 1904 M. M. F. Maxwell 127 The pretty Ground Ivy is called ‘The Devil's candlestick’. 1913 6 Aug. (1915) 67/2 Amongst the Fungi the Phallus impudicus is termed the ‘Devil's Candlestick’, ‘Witches' Candlestick’, and ‘Stinkhorn’. 1992 N. Groom 99 Ground Ivy..known by many other local names, including Candlesticks, Catsfoot, Creeping Jenny, Devil's Candlesticks, [etc.]. 1883 21 Dec. 90/1 Abundance of devil's club and fern, brush and logs, and every conceivable thing impeded our progress. 1916 K. Morris 17 Their hands were festering from the pricks of the devil's club. 2007 Sept. 58/1 The bear paused to graze a grassy ledge before ducking beneath a prickly branch of devil's club and clambering higher up the cliff. 1878 J. Britten & R. Holland 148 Devil's Coach-wheel, Ranunculus arvensis. 1920 W. E. Brenchley 221 Devil's Coach-wheel. 2010 R. Mabey iv. 71 Corn buttercup was..Devil's coachwheel and Devil's currycomb (mostly with reference to the shape of the seeds). 1861 N. A. Dalzell & A. Gibson 10 Devil's Cotton; a shrub, with soft velvetty branches. 1890 20 Sept. 243/2 Devil's cotton is an East Indian tree. 2008 (Sage-Femme Collective) 297 Abroma radix..is derived from the fresh juice of the root back of the tropical Asian plant Abroma augusta with the common names olat kambal or devil's cotton. 1870 Oct. 227/2 It's full of the devil's currycomb. 1889 8 277/1 Corn Crowfoot..Devil's Curry-comb. 1964 E. Salisbury (ed. 2) vi. 177 It is this fruit character which is responsible for the popular designations of Devil's Currycomb and Devil-on-both-sides. 2010 R. Mabey iv. 71 Corn buttercup was..Devil's coachwheel and Devil's currycomb (mostly with reference to the shape of the seeds). the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [noun] > one who or that which > specific 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens ii. cxii. 304 Called..in Englishe also Assa fetida; in high Douche Teufels dreck, that is to say Deuilles durt. 1625 W. Gordon 10 Assæ fetidæ, of a stinking Gum, called Devils Dirt. 1889 4 i. 35 In Forfarshire, asafoetida pills are widely known as devil's dirt pills! 1956 15 65 Then the room was smoked out with ‘devil's dirt’—a resinous substance which was heated. the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [noun] > one who or that which > specific a1576 W. Bullein Bk. Compoundes f. 39v (margin) , in (1579) There be .ii. kindes of this Assa, one is called Assa fœtida, or Diuels dunge. 1799 tr. (ed. 6) I. vi. 237 Asafœtida is sometimes called by the name of Devil's dung. 1996 104 Asafoetida, Food-of-the-Gods, Devil's Dung... It is a very stout and much-branched, attractive, airy plant with large, very much-divided leaves, and bearing umbels of yellow flowers. 2004 23 Nov. ii. 23/4 Also known as Devil's Dung and by its Latin name, asafoetida.., hing is harvested as a resin from the asafoetida plant grown in Afghanistan and India. 1845 S. Judd i. vi. 32 It is flowers, buttercups, yellow columbine, liverleaf, devil's ears, and such as I never saw before. 1890 5 243/2 The plant wake-robin is called Devil's ear. 2008 J. Wagstaff 31/2 Arisaema Triphyllum..devil's-ear. 1731 P. Miller I. at Argemone This is an annual Plant, which is very common in most Parts of the West-Indies, and is by the Spaniards call'd, Fico del Inferno, or the Devil's Fig. 1808 R. Southey (ed. 3) II. xv. 38 I saw the prickly pear, or as it is called here the devil's fig. 1997 13 June 10/5 Last autumn I was sent some seed of the Devil's fig or prickly poppy, Argemone mexicana, by friends in New Zealand. 1878 J. Britten & R. Holland Devil's garter, Convolvulus sepium. 1897 June 75/1 These interpretations..seem to have been applied more particularly to the wild bind-weed—the ‘devil's garters’ in Ireland. 1915 June 256 It is known as the morning-glory, wayside cup,..rope-weed, and devil's garter. 1947 O. Percival 151 Devil's garter, Convolvulus sepium. 1961 58 468 ‘Devil's garters’ for convolvulus. 1910 A. F. Johnston i. 2 Electric bulbs were strung through the cacti and devil's ivy like elfin lamps. 1914 J. C. Garrett (Oklahoma A & M Coll. Extension Service) 2 Devil's Ivy or Philodendron—Easiest of all vines to grow. 1955 26 Aug. 17/7 (advt.) Week end special. Devil's Ivy. 5 for $1.00. 2011 103 The devil's ivy can be grown as a climbing plant up a large support, or allow its long stems to cascade over the sides of a container. 1824 tr. J. Leschenault de la Tour in 1 Feb. 108/2 Another non-descript species, which I have met with on the hills of the Island of Timor, is called Daoun Satan (Devil's leaf) [Fr. daoun setan (feuille du diable)] by the natives. 1830 J. Lindley 94 A nettle called daoun setan, or devil's leaf, in Timor; the effects of which are said..to last for a year, and even to cause death. 1979 J. Mitchell & A. Rook 38/2 The skin effects of U. urentissima (Devil's Leaf) are said to last for months. 1994 Apr. 26/1 Anyone acquainted with the fiery burn and itchy rash caused by brushing an arm or a leg against stinging nettles will easily recall the plant's alternative names: cursed weed and Devil's leaf. 1825 J. T. G. Rodwell ii. i. 27 He'll have nothing to do but to strew my grave with sun-flowers, and hollyhocks, and devil's-oatmeal. 1920 W. E. Brenchley 208 Anthriscus sylvestris..devil's oatmeal. 2010 R. Vickery 54 Cow parsley has other names that suggest it is unpleasant or inauspicious. Such names include: badman-oatmeal, de'ils meal, devil's oatmeal, devil's parsley, [etc.]. 1891 17 Jan. 44/1 Contiguous pasture or waste land overrun with thistles, daisies, golden rod, buttercups, devil's paintbrush and a multitude of other weeds. 1960 24 July x. 45/1 A second expedition takes us through one of the color-spangled fields ablaze with the orange-red of devil's paintbrush. 2002 C. Varner 26 Orange hawkweed or devil's paintbrush. Hieracium aurantiacum. a1876 E. Leigh (1877) 61 Devil's Parsley..—Anthriscus sylvestris. Wild beaked parsley, or wild chervil. 1920 W. E. Brenchley 208 Anthriscus sylvestris..Devil's parsley. 1991 W. E. Naff tr. T. Shimazaki i. 9 There is a lush growth of devil's parsley and other poisonous plants in the streambed. 1878 J. Britten & R. Holland Devil's Posy, Allium ursinum. 1898 L. Deas 127 So proverbial has the strong odour of the allium become, that in some parts of England garlic is known as ‘the devil's posy’. 1919 A. R. Horwood III. 119 It [sc. Allium ursinum] was called Devil's Posy from a supposed connection with the Evil One. 1986 A. H. Hicks in 149 It is difficult to say just how or when the association of garlic (Devil's Posy) and the Devil first began. 1808 J. Jamieson at Blind Man's Ball Devil's snuff-box, Common puff-ball. 1884 R. Holland (1886) Devil's snuff-box, puff-ball. 2008 J. A. Chambers vii. 142 That's just the dust out of a dried-up puffball, what us heathens call a devil's snuff box. 1862 May 159 In Yorkshire this Fungus is called the ‘Devil's Stinkpot’ . 1908 14 14 In Europe the peasantry call them the Devil's horns or Devil's stinkpots. 2002 G. M. Halpern & A. P. Miller xii. 133 In England, the mushroom [sc. Phallus impudicus] is known by the names Stinkhorn, Devil's Stinkpot, Devil's Horn, Stinking Polecat, and Wood Witch. 1857 10 231 It [sc. Echinopanax horridum] is sometimes called ‘Devil's Walking Stick’, as is Aralia spinosa. 1956 E. Gunther tr. A. Krause (1970) i. 57 Man-high ferns and even taller huckleberry bushes and rhododendron are associated with the particular west coast Araliacea (Fatsia horrida Smith.), called devil's walking stick by the Americans. 1995 Nov. 709/1 The spreading shrub Aralia spinosa, (devil's walking stick), armed with thorny stems, but superb pinnate foliage and decorative panicles of cream flowers. 2000 7 Sept. a15 Devil's walkingstick is more interesting and ominous than beautiful. d. In the names of animals and fossil animals. See also devil's bird n., devil's claw n. 1, devil's coach-horse n., devil's darning-needle n. 1, devil's gold ring n.the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > member of (beetle) > black 1688 R. Holme ii. 213/1 They are generally known to us; by the name of blind Beetles and Devils cows. 1736 G. Harbin in (1893) 3 182 It is said that Hedgehogs chiefly feed upon those large black insects called in Somersetshire the Devil's Cows. 1859 94 In Somersetshire a certain elongated black member of the family of an unquestionably forbidding appearance is called the Devil's-cow, and in various counties the..Devil's-coach-horse. 1889 10 28 Devil's cow:—A flat kind of beetle. 1903 C. L. Daniels & C. M. Stevans II. 613/2 There is a beetle in Devonshire and Somersetshire, called the devil's cow; and if you spit on its head, your saliva will turn to blood. 1811 J. Parkinson III. x. 122 Belemnites... Various names have been assigned to this fossil... Such are, devil's fingers, Spectrorum candela, and idæus dactylus, from their having somewhat of the form of fingers. 1835 IV. 172/2 Belemnite, Thunderstone, or Arrowhead..: we..find the term Devil's fingers bestowed on them. 1842 9 Nov. 180/2 The Uraster rubens..is in Ireland an object of superstitious dislike, and at Bangor is known by the name of ‘devil's fingers’. 1902 9 Aug. 196/1 The starfish, that flabby innocent called ‘devil's fingers’, has a pull which avails much on the oyster beds. 1950 28 Apr. 9 Starfish were once known as ‘Devil's Fingers’. It was believed that they would sting and blister the fingers when touched. 1966 G. E. Evans xiii. 131 With the Devil's Finger, however, the belemnite fossil, a rich complex is associated. 2010 (Nexis) 4 Dec. Bullet shaped belemnites, which look like dinosaur teeth and are the remains of a creature resembling a cuttlefish, are, locally, called ‘devil's fingers’. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Dictyoptera > suborder Mantodea > member of family Mantidae > mantis religiosa (praying mantis) 1760 XV. iv. iii. 64 The feitan, favez, or the devil's horse, resembles a man armed with feathers, commonly walks with a majestic gravity, or runs with surprising swiftness; but when too closely pursued, expands his wings and flies away. 1796 R. H. tr. G. C. Raff (Edinb. ed.) I. 189 Dragon-flies..in different countries are called, sometimes aquatick nymphs, sometimes ladies, devil's horses, or devil's needles. 1835 G. R. Gray 8 The extraordinary forms of these insects..have given rise to various appellations derived from a supposed resemblance to unearthly beings, such as the devil's horse, spectre, phantom, &c. 1937 14 Aug. 264/1 Less graceful but fascinating are the devil's-horses, a showy grasshopper commonly six inches long which travels over the land by the million devouring vegetation as it goes. 1968 13 Dec. a10/2 A devil's horse (praying mantis) found on a cotton boll means good luck to some while to others it means you will be pursued by the devil. 2006 J. T. Costa vi. 143 These and other walkingsticks are also referred to as devil's horses. 1808 A. Rees (1819) X. at Crow-stones These the ignorant and superstitious of some places denominate the devil's toe-nails! 1847 D. T. Ansted ix. 190 The Belemnite has..various local names (such as thunderbolt, devil's toe-nail). 1989 17 21 The fossil [sc. Gryphaea incurva] is often known as the devil's toenail on account of its resemblance to a large ingrowing toenail. 2009 1 Aug. (Weekend section) 31/1 I still pore over gravelled drives in search of belemnites and devil's toenails. Derivatives 1601 W. Cornwallis II. l. sig. Nn3v And diuell wise labour for nothing but to make all soules leuell with theirs. 1910 A. Dudeney vi. 172 Even before she drank, which at last she did, Sir Walter seemed to recede, devil-wise, into smoke. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022). devilv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: devil n. †1. society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > [verb (intransitive)] 1593 T. Nashe f. 77v In the euillest of euill functions, which is, in deuilling it simply. 1633 G. Garrard Let. 6 Dec. in Earl of Strafford (1739) I. 166 He cried out, The Devil, what do you mean? Mohun replies, If you Devil me, I will Devil you. 1697 J. Vanbrugh iv. 55 Lady B. The Devil's Hands: Let me go... Sir John. I'll Devil you, you Jade you. I'll demolish your ugly Face. the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to 1652 E. Benlowes ii. xv. 25 The Serpent Devil'd Eve. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > grill or broil > with hot condiments 1787 2 83 An author..said he would undertake to fill our theatrical table with a plentiful and various collection of mental dishes, suitable to all palates:—he said he has roasted Nabobs, and stewed Patriots; surprised Generals, and Deviled Lawyers. 1817 T. L. Peacock II. xxiii. 136 If the carp be not caught, let me be devilled like a biscuit after the second bottle, or a turkey's leg at a twelfth night supper. 1831 E. J. Trelawny I. 291 Come Louis, devil us a biscuit. 1861 E. B. Ramsay 2nd Ser. iii. 52 One of the legs should be deviled. 1911 (Ramblers Club, Minneapolis) 27 Devil the eggs in usual way, add minced ham, tongue, chicken or other cold meat. 1977 L. J. Brass in E. A. Menninger xii. 61/1 Devilled in the fry-pan by the camp cook, these nuts go very well with the sundowner, when one is camped in the rain forests of Papua. 2000 2 Dec. (Weekend section) p. xvi Some cooks favour devilling pheasant drumsticks. the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)] 1823 W. Faux 216 Go, father, and tell our great father, the President, how we are deviled and cheated. 1883 A. E. Sweet & J. A. Knox iii. 47 They devilled the poor fellow almost to death. 1940 C. McCullers i. iii. 50 Sometimes it was fun to devil Portia. 1946 K. Tennant (1947) iii. 48 A man with any push would form a progress association and devil the shire council about the roads. 2002 J. Jakes (2003) iii. lxvii. 440 Gnats deviled his neck. Little triangular burrs attached themselves to his pant legs as he walked. 1833 Factories Inq. Comm.: 1st Rep. Employm. Children in Factories D. 2. 16 in (H.C. 450) XX. 1 Before the word ‘carding’, in Clause 1, should be cleaning, scutching, devilling, or otherwise preparing cotton wool, &c. 1841 18 Dec. We have good wool mixed with ‘shoddy’ and dirt ‘devilled’ out of rags brought even from Constantinople. 1861 E. Brasier 91/2 A machine in which the several processes of breaking, washing, beating, heckling, combing, brushing, and devilling the fibres [of flax, hemp, Spanish or China grass, etc.] may be effected. 1874 25 Apr. 195/2 He..holds over them [sc. the wool ends] a jet of steam at high pressure, until they are sufficiently damp, then he again devils his ends three or four times. 1893 7 Jan. 45 ‘Shoddy’, however, dirty,..is an article regarded as having been wholly or partly remanufactured—even..if it have only been ‘devilled’ by being torn up. 5. Originally Law slang. Cf. devil n. 8b, devil n. 8c. society > law > legal profession > practice law [verb (intransitive)] > work without fee or recognition 1864 20 Aug. 232/2 He devils for the counsel on both sides. 1880 20 Nov. 243/2 As long as briefless barristers consent to ‘devil’, so long will the abuse flourish, to the disadvantage of the public and the Bar. 1889 9 Feb. 159/2 He must have chambers and a clerk, or a share of both. He must be ready and willing to ‘devil’. 1930 10 June 14/4 He was a pupil of Sir Archibald Bodkin, lately Director of Public Prosecutions, for whom he devilled for some years. 1999 18 June 12/4 All who wished, as he did, to practise at the Irish Bar, instead of merely devilling as an attorney like his father, had first to qualify at an English Inn of Court. 1872 ‘Two Idle Apprentices’ 126 Mr. Jones, in return for ‘devilling’ his friend Smith's brief (in other words, for doing Smith's work for him), would..receive half of Mr. Smith's fee. 1887 Jan. 62 Allowing me to devil his work for him for ten years. 1893 5 Aug. 182/1 We imagine that Mr. Robinson got his authors ‘devilled’ for him, for hardly any single brain could have extracted all this material. 1936 F. W. Ashley ii. 20 Of course, his work was ‘devilled’, and half an hour's examination of the ‘devil’ invariably put him in possession of all the relevant facts and points he required. 2012 H. Heilbron v. 58 Some of the work was devilled, ie drafted in the first instance by another more junior member of chambers. society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > vest authority in a person [verb (transitive)] > depute or delegate authority > to a private deputy 1891 A. F. Leach 22 (note) Of course he ‘devilled’ his duties, and equally of course the ‘devil’ neglected them. 1927 W. Verrall I. xiii. 170 When all the area between the screeds has been filled in, the floated work is then devilled with a devil float. 1939 85 212 All these materials..should be covered with a pricking-up coat, well scratched, a floating coat, ‘devilled’ with a ‘devil float’, and a finishing coat, hard trowelled. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.eOE v.1593 |
