| 释义 |
sell your soul
sell (one's) soul (to the devil)To abandon one's values or morals in return for some highly desired benefit, typically success, power, wealth, etc. I'm afraid we've sold our soul to the devil by agreeing to this partnership. It will keep us in business, but at what cost to our clients? Don't sell your soul to get to the top, or else you'll find yourself all alone there.See also: sell, soulsell your soul COMMON If someone sells their soul for something, they do whatever they need to in order to get that thing, doing things that they considered wrong before. As the Co-operative movement approaches its 150th anniversary, has it sold its soul to commercial pressures? Note: Sometimes people use the longer expression to sell your soul to the devil. His devoted fans thought he had sold his soul to the devil producing such commercial music. Note: There are many stories about people who sold their souls to the devil in return for wealth, success, or pleasure. The most famous is about Dr Faustus, whose story was first told in a book published in Germany in 1587, and later told by writers such as the English writer Marlowe and the German poet Goethe. See also: sell, soulsell your soul (to the devil) do or be willing to do anything, no matter how wrong, in order to achieve your objective. The reference here is to a contract supposedly made with the devil by certain people: in return for granting them all their desires in this life, the devil would receive their souls for all eternity. The most famous person reputed to have entered into such a contract was the 16th-century German astronomer and necromancer Faust, who became the subject of plays by Goethe and Marlowe and a novel by Thomas Mann .See also: sell, soulsell your ˈsoul (informal, often humorous) do something morally or legally wrong in order to get something that you want very much: He’d sell his soul to get that job.This expression refers to selling your soul to the devil in exchange for power, money, etc.See also: sell, soul |