All related terms of 'the devil!'

If you say that someone does something like the devil , you are emphasizing that they put a lot of effort into it. If you say that someone drives like the devil , you are emphasizing that they drive very fast .

something very difficult or awkward

to fail or become dissipated

to cause a commotion

a very difficult or problematic (thing)

problems or trouble to be faced as a consequence of an action

said when someone you have just been talking about arrives unexpectedly

used when an absent person who has been the subject of conversation appears

to make much worse ; upset considerably

to acknowledge the talent or the success of an opponent or unpleasant person

People say speak of the devil , or in British English talk of the devil , if someone they have just been talking about appears unexpectedly.

When you want to emphasize how annoyed or surprised you are, you can use an expression such as what the devil , how the devil, or why the devil .

You can say the devil take the hindmost to describe or comment on a situation you disapprove of because people do only what is best for themselves without thinking about other people.

If you say better the devil you know or better the devil you know than the devil you don't know , you mean that you would prefer to have contact with or do business with a person you already know, even though you don't like them, than with a person you don't know.

If you say that someone has sold their soul to the devil , you mean that you disapprove of them because they have done something that you think is not right in order to get what they want .

an exclamatory remark of surprise

to be in a difficult situation where the two possible courses of action or choices that you can take are equally bad

If you say that you are between the devil and the deep blue sea , you mean that you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action.

If you say that you had the devil's own job to do something or that you had a devil of a job doing something, you are emphasizing that it was difficult to do it.

to manage to do something, but only after a lot of difficulty