devil in Christian and Jewish belief, the supreme spirit of evil, Satan. The Devil is traditionally represented with horns, cloven hooves, and a forked tail, all signs of his demonic origin. The name is recorded from Old English (in form dēofol) and comes ultimately via late Latin from Greek diabolos ‘accuser, slanderer’ (used in the Septuagint to translate Hebrew śāṭān ‘Satan’), from diaballein ‘to slander’.
the Devil can quote scripture for his own ends it is possible for someone engaged in wrongdoing to quote selectively from the Bible in apparent support of their position. The saying, recorded from the late 16th century, alludes to the temptation of Christ by the Devil (Matthew ch. 4), and to the Devil's citation of Psalm 91:11, ‘he shall give his angels charge over thee,’ in his challenge to Jesus to throw himself from a pinnacle of the Temple to show that God would not allow him to be hurt.
the Devil finds work for idle hands to do someone who has no work to do will get into mischief. The saying is recorded from the early 18th century, but idleness and mischief are linked in a letter of St Jerome (c. ad 342–420), ‘fac et aliquid operis, ut semper te diabolus inveniat occupatum [do something, so that the devil may always find you busy].’
the Devil is in the details the most difficult part of planning and achieving something is the detailed specification rather than the overall concept. The saying is recorded from the late 20th century; the comment ‘God is in the details’ is attributed to the German-born architect and designer Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969).
the Devil is not so black as he is painted someone may not be as bad as their reputation. The saying is recorded from the mid 16th century, but a 15th-century French saying runs, ‘a man is not always as devilish as he is black.’
the Devil looks after his own often used to comment on the good fortune of someone undeserving. Recorded from the early 18th century, but an early 17th-century source, Day's Isle of Gulls (1607), has ‘You were worse than the devil else, for they say he helps his servants.’
the Devil makes his Christmas pies of lawyers' tongues and clerks' fingers proverbial saying, late 16th century, in which the lawyers' tongues and clerks' fingers stand for the words and actions of the legal profession as welcomed by the Devil.
devil's advocate a person appointed by the Roman Catholic Church to challenge a proposed beatification or canonization, or the verification of a miracle.
devil's bones dice, a name recorded from the mid 17th century.
the Devil's children have the Devil's luck proverbial saying, late 17th century, comparable to the Devil looks after his own.
devil's dozen thirteen.
Devil's Island a rocky island off the coast of French Guiana, used from 1852 as a penal settlement, especially for political prisoners. The last prisoner was released in 1953.
devil's picture books playing cards; a name recorded from the late 18th century.
Devil take the hindmost a shortened version of every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost, recorded from the early 17th century.
the Devil was sick, the Devil a saint would be; the Devil was well, the devil a saint was he! promises made in adversity may not be kept in prosperity. The saying is recorded in English from the early 17th century, but is the variant of a medieval Latin proverb.
what is got over the Devil's back is spent under his belly what is gained improperly will be spent on folly and debauchery. The saying is recorded from the late 16th century.
why should the Devil have all the best tunes attributed to the English evangelist Rowland Hill (1744–1833), and referring to the fact that many hymns were sung to popular secular tunes. The saying is recorded from the mid 19th century.