DEVIL

[noun] [C] - an evil being, often represented in human form but with a tail and hornsHieronymus Bosch was a sixteenth century painter famous for his pictures of devils, freaks and monsters.(informal) Devil is also used to refer to someone, esp. a child, who behaves badly.Those little/young devils broke my window with their ball.(informal humorous) Devil is sometimes used to mean a person who enjoys doing things that might be considered to be unacceptable in some way."I'm going to wear my short black skirt and my thigh-length leather boots." "Ooh, you devil!""Have another slice of cake - go on, be a devil!"(informal) You can also call a person a devil when you are expressing your opinion about something that has happened to them.I hear you've got a new car, you lucky devil!He's been ill for weeks, the poor devil.In Christianity and Judaism, the Devil is the originator of evil and the enemy of God.I renounce the Devil and all his works.People were shocked by the horror film about a young child being possessed by the Devil.(dated) A/the devil of means extremely difficult or serious.We've got a devil of a decision/mess/problem facing us here, Pete.We had the devil of a job/time trying to find the place!(humorous or dated) Devil-may-care means not worrying or caring about the results of your actions.He has a rather devil-may-care attitude to his studies.(dated, esp. literary) If you tell someone to go to the devil you are annoyed with them and want them to go away.You can go to the devil, young man, and I hope I never see your face again!People sometimes say speak/talk of the devil when the person they were talking about appears unexpectedly.Did you hear what happened to Anna yesterday - oh, speak of the devil, here she is.The devil can be used to give emphasis to a question.What the devil are you doing?Where the devil has Jeremy put that paper?I haven't seen you for ages! How the devil are you?(dated) If he catches you doing that there'll be the devil to pay (= a lot of trouble)!The devil's own means extremely difficult or bad.We had the devil's own job/time finding the place!She's had the devil's own luck finding a job.If you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you have two choices but both of them are equally unpleasant or inconvenient.(saying) 'Give the devil his due' means admitting that someone you do not like or admire still has particular good qualities.I don't like the man but - give the devil his due - he works incredibly hard.In an argument or discussion, a devil's advocate is a person who supports an unpopular or opposite argument in order to make people think seriously about the matter, and question the truth of the most widely held belief.Joe didn't really believe the things he was saying in the meeting, he was just playing devil's advocate.(esp. US) Devil's food cake is a strong-tasting dark chocolate cake.(saying) 'The devil finds work for idle hands' means that if you have nothing to do, you are more likely to get involved in trouble or crime.