devil

Universal Words noun 1 (the Devil) (in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions) the most powerful evil being SYNSATAN: He would sell his soul to the Devil. 2 a wicked evil spirit: They believed she was possessed by devils. 3 (informal) a person who behaves badly, especially a child: a naughty little devil 4 (informal) used to talk about sb and to emphasize an opinion that you have of them: I miss the old devil, now that he's gone. * She's off to Greece for a month-lucky devil! * James was a handsome devil and rich, too. IDIOMS be a devil (BrE) people say Be a devil! to encourage sb to do sth that they are not sure about doing: Go on, be a devil, buy both of them. better the devil you know (than the devil you don't) (saying) used to say that it is easier and wiser to stay in a bad situation that you know and can deal with rather than change to a new situation which may be much worse between the devil and the deep blue sea in a difficult situation where there are two equally unpleasant or unacceptable choices the devil (old-fashioned) very difficult or unpleasant: These berries are the devil to pick because they're so small. a devil of a job / time (old-fashioned) a very difficult or unpleasant job or time: I've had a devil of a job finding you. go to the devil! (old-fashioned, spoken) used, in an unfriendly way, to tell sb to go away like the devil (old-fashioned, informal) very hard, fast, etc: We ran like the devil. speak / talk of the devil (informal) people say speak/talk of the devil when sb they have been talking about appears unexpectedly: Well, speak of the devil-here's Alice now! what, where, who, why, etc. the devil... (old-fashioned) used in questions to show that you are annoyed or surprised: What the devil do you think you're doing? moreatPAYv.