Some Devilish Idioms Trivia Quiz

Answer: due

No matter how hard we try to deny it or not recognise it, just about every person, no matter how bad they are, has at least one good thing about them. For instance, we all know that Hitler was a pig, but to give the devil his due, he was an incredibly charismatic man.

Answer: You're an incredibly lucky person

If a person has the "luck of the devil" or "the devil's own luck," everything just always seems to go their way. For instance, someone who won the lottery three times (I have my doubts that this has happened) might be said to have the luck of the devil.

Incidentally, an old wives' tale says that if you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (e.g. Jack the Ripper and Charles Manson!)

Answer: than the devil you don't

Basically, this idiom is suggesting that it's far better to remain in a bad situation, than to risk changing it and leaving it as it is. Personally, I think this is absolute poppycock and if you don't like something, you should do all that is in your power to make it better, but hey, I didn't write the idiom.

While not set in concrete, it's believed that this idiom is Irish in origin, and can be traced back to R Taverner's 1539 collection of idioms.

Answer: They spent a good amount of time doing something very difficult

This is quite an old-fashioned idiom, but I like it! When one says that they had the "devil's job" doing something, it generally means that their task was fairly difficult and unpleasant.

After all, it can't be too easy keeping peace with all the dead souls in hell, can it? ;)

Answer: Tom has just unexpectedly appeared in their midst

This idiom is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, where it was considered bad luck to speak about the devil, or evil in general, as it was considered to be an invitation to the devil to appear. The idiom is basically a shortened version of the original English saying, "speak of the devil and he shall appear" or "talk of the devil, and he's presently at your elbow." It's an idiomatic instruction that warns against talking about people behind their backs, and tempting fate.

Funnily enough, most languages have their own version of this idiom, with many of them referring to a wolf rather than the devil. One that I found particularly amusing is the Swedish "när man talar om trollen så står de i farstun", which translates to "when you speak of trolls, they stand in the entrance hall."

Answer: They'll do something bad in order to get what they want

Someone who will "sell their soul to the devil" is someone who is desperate or greedy enough to do something bad (like selling their soul) in order to benefit themselves (think about it: would YOU really like to spend the rest of eternity in the company of the devil? I think not).

In various legends, people selling their soul to the devil is often done in return for favours such as wealth or power.

As a matter of trivia, some fundamentalist religious groups hold the belief that celebrities have all sold their souls to the devil; after all, how else could they become famous?

Answer: the deep blue sea

Having to make a choice "between the devil and the deep blue sea" is not a pleasant situation to find yourself in. A rather dramatic situation in this case would be choosing between your own life or the life of someone you love (even though, morally, the answer is staggeringly obvious).

This idiom is said to have originated off sailing ships, on which a "devil" is considered to be either a piece of wood or a joint on a ship that is particularly difficult to reach, or the seam (separating line) between the planking of the ship and the waterline. If someone were standing on the mast, they were considered to be "between the devil and the deep blue sea," because if they were to fall, they would likely die in both cases.

Answer: They are reckless and carefree

People with a "devil-may-care" attitude are generally wildly reckless and carefree, and don't really care about the consequences of their actions. This is a lovely attitude to have when you're young (after all, to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid, right?) but can have some seriously devastating consequences later on.

As a purely unrelated matter of trivia, "Devil May Care" is a James Bond book written by Sebastian Faulks in 2008 in honour of Ian Fleming (James Bond's creator's) hundredth anniversary of his birth.

Answer: idle hands

My mom obviously thought that if I wasn't kept working, I'd turn into some kind of juvenile delinquent. This idiom basically means that if people don't have anything to do, they're more likely to start getting up to mischief, such as criminal activity.

Some people might recognise this phrase as "idle hands are the devil's tools," but it means the same thing.

Answer: They're going against a widely supported idea just for the sake of argument

When someone is "playing devil's advocate," they purposefully go against an idea that they might even support, just for the sake of argument or to make others consider the idea more carefully. Strangely, this is one of the few idiomatic expressions in which the devil is portrayed in a skeptical, but almost good light!

It's believed that this expression originated during the Roman Catholic Church's canonization process. The church appointed a Promoter of the Faith, whose job was to argue in favour of the canonization, looking for all things "saintly" about the deceased in question. The Devil's Advocate, however, was to argue almost cynically against the canonization, looking for holes in the evidence, other explanations for miracles, and "skeletons in the closet."

Pope John Paul II eliminated the "Devil's advocate" part of the canonization process in 1983. Many argue that this was a bad move, because as opposed to 98 canonizations before 1983, John Paul II canonized just under 500 people. The presence of a Devil's Advocate ensured that all evidence was analysed carefully, completely, and from both sides. It also ensured that Sainthood was not "easy" to achieve.

Thanks for playing. Have a nice day, and may the luck of the devil be with you!