魔鬼無處不在

有人說，我們每個人的心里都住著一個魔鬼。然而如果我們能夠控制好自己的心，魔鬼是不會出來作惡的，畢竟我們的心里還住著一位天使。本期《小詞大義》我們就來聊聊魔鬼的短語吧。

Many expressions in American English come from the world of religion. Some common idioms are based on high， religious ideals. But today we look at the bad or evil side of religion.

The Devil is the most powerful spirit of evil in Christianity， Islam and other religions. The devil is clearly at work in these idioms and expressions.

Speaking of the devil， to speak of the devil means to talk about someone at the same time the person appears. Here is an example，

“John and I are going to the movies tonight and...hey， speak of the devil！ Here comes John now.”

“Hey John！ We were just talking about you...and speak of the devil you appear.”

Keep in mind， this expression does not mean that you think the individual is bad or evil.

It’s just an issue of timing. But there are many devil expressions that do refer to bad behavior.

And sometimes when we behave badly， we blame the devil. We say the devil made me do it.

● speak of the devil 字面意思是，談論著魔鬼，魔鬼就出現了。可以直接翻譯成習語：說曹操，曹操就到。也可以這樣表達：speak of the devil and he appears。

● the devil made me do it 是魔鬼驅使我這么做的。多年前，著名的意大利服裝品牌范思哲（Versace）被撤回一批T恤衫，因為衣服上寫著“是魔鬼讓我這么干的”（the devil made me do it），引起了宗教界人士的抗議。喜歡創新、制造轟動的設計師和攝影師們，總想借助宗教來表達某種情緒或效果，當然，效果是有好有壞的。

Or we say something or someone brings out the devil in us. This means we blame someone else for our bad behavior. Let’s use it in a sentence.

“Boy， you are like a different person when your old friend from college comes around.”

“I know. I just can’t behave when he’s around. He really brings out the devil in me.”

When we use this idiom， we really don’t mean evil behavior—more like being mischievous or causing light-hearted trouble. This is different than having a devil-may-care attitude.

Having a devil-may-care way of thinking means you are willing to push the limits more than most people. And you really don’t care what others think.

There is also the daredevil. A daredevil is a wild person who likes acting dangerously. A daredevil is， well， daring the devil—which can get you into trouble.

So， it’s good to keep busy and out of trouble. And this is where the expression idle hands are the devil’s workshop comes from. The word idle means inactive or not working. And some people believe that keeping busy keeps you out of trouble.

But there are some people who team up with the devil. They play devil’s advocate. To play devil’s advocate is a very useful expression. It has a lot of meaning in just two words.

When you play devil’s advocate you say things you do not really believe just to start an argument or discussion. And， actually， this is often used in a good way.

Exactly. I could say， “Let me play devil’s advocate for a minute so we can see the other side of this issue.”

And teachers often play devil’s advocate to create interesting discussions in the classroom.

But to make a deal with the devil is usually a bad idea. It means you want something so badly that you are willing to sacrifice something important for it—like your soul.

Often what you sacrifice is not really your soul but rather your morals or self-esteem.

● bring out the devil in us 意思是引出了我們心里的魔鬼。這意味著我們將不好的行為歸咎于別人。

● devil-may-care 意思是不顧一切的。

● daredevil 意思是魯莽大膽的人，蠻勇的人。

● idle hands are the devil’s workshop 字面意思是“閑置的手是魔鬼的工作室”，可以翻譯為：閑著無事，為鬼推磨；閑人是惡魔的手下；魔鬼專坑懶鬼。

● play devil’s advocate 是指故意提出不同意見；唱反調；故意挑毛病。這個短語來源于羅馬天主教會，羅馬天主教會在授予某人圣人稱號的時候都要經過審議。在審議時總有一個專門提出反面意見的教會官員，故意指出被授稱號者的缺點，目的是促使審議人員更慎重地進行討論。

● make a deal with the devil 意思是與魔鬼做交易。這通常是個壞主意，意味著你很想得到某樣東西，甚至愿意為此犧牲其他很重要的東西——比如你的靈魂。