| 释义 |
the devil to pay
dev·il D0179400 (dĕv′əl)n.1. often Devil In many religions, the major personified spirit of evil, ruler of Hell, and foe of God. Used with the.2. A subordinate evil spirit; a demon.3. A wicked or malevolent person.4. A person: a handsome devil; the poor devil.5. An energetic, mischievous, daring, or clever person.6. Printing A printer's devil.7. A device or machine, especially one having teeth or spikes and used for tearing.8. An outstanding example, especially of something difficult or bad: has a devil of a temper.9. A severe reprimand or expression of anger: gave me the devil for cutting class.10. Informal Used as an intensive: Who the devil do you think you are?tr.v. dev·iled, dev·il·ing, dev·ils or dev·illed or dev·il·ling 1. To season (food) heavily.2. To annoy, torment, or harass.3. To tear up (cloth or rags) in a toothed machine.Idioms: between the devil and the deep blue sea Between two equally unacceptable choices. full of the devil Very energetic, mischievous, daring, or clever. give the devil his due To give credit to a disagreeable or malevolent person. go to the devil1. To be unsuccessful; fail.2. To become depraved.3. Used in the imperative to express anger or impatience. play the devil with To upset or ruin. the devil take the hindmost Let each person follow self-interest, leaving others to fare as they may. the devil to pay Trouble to be faced as a result of an action: There'll be the devil to pay if you allow the piglets inside the house.
[Middle English devel, from Old English dēofol, from Latin diabolus, from Late Greek diabolos, from Greek, slanderer, from diaballein, to slander : dia-, dia- + ballein, to hurl; see gwelə- in Indo-European roots.]the devil to payGreat trouble to be faced as a consequence of something you have done; from the old nautical use of pay to mean “smear with tar” and the devil being the gunwale, hence the idea of a difficult job to do.the devil to pay
the devil to payA huge amount of trouble, typically as a result of some particular thing happening (or not). There'll be the devil to pay if they catch us sneaking out this late at night! I just worry that we'll have the devil to pay if he gets elected president.See also: devil, paythe devil to pay serious trouble to be expected. This expression refers to the bargain formerly supposed to be made between magicians and the devil, the former receiving extraordinary powers or wealth in return for their souls.See also: devil, payˈhell/the ˈdevil to pay (informal) a lot of trouble: There’ll be hell to pay when your father sees that broken window.See also: devil, hell, pay the devil to pay Trouble to be faced as a result of an action: There'll be the devil to pay if you allow the piglets inside the house.See also: devil, paydevil to pay, theSerious trouble, a mess. The expression originally referred to making a bargain with the devil, and the payment that eventually would be exacted. It first appeared in print about 1400: “Be it wer be at tome for ay, than her to serve the devil to pay” (Reliquiare Antiquae). This Faustian type of trouble was later lightened to mean any kind of problem (Jonathan Swift, Journal to Stella, 1711: “The Earl of Strafford is to go soon to Holland . . . and then there will be the devil and all to pay”). In the nineteenth century the expression was expanded to “the devil to pay and no pitch hot.” This form referred to “paying,” or caulking, a seam around a ship’s hull very near the waterline; it was called “the devil” because it was so difficult to reach. (See also between the devil and the deep blue sea.) Sir Walter Scott used it in The Pirate (1821): “If they hurt but one hair of Cleveland’s head, there will be the devil to pay and no pitch hot.”See also: devilEncyclopediaSeedevilThesaurusSeeDevil |