speak of the devil
English · Thesaurus
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speak of the devil
Where it comes from
Ellipsis of speak of the devil and he shall appear, which can be traced back to “talk of the Devil, and he’s presently at your elbow”, attested in 1666. The idea behind this (namely, that mentioning a dangerous creature may cause it to appear) is found in many cultures around the world; see taboo avoidance.
phrase talk of the devil
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An expression sometimes used when a person mentioned in the current conversation happens to arrive on the scene.
A: You know who would appreciate this? Tom. B: Speak of the devil! Look who just walked in!
Similar: speaking of
Translations
Every language
phrase expression used when a person mentioned in the current conversation happens to arrive
| Español | habla del rey de Roma, y asoma, hablando del rey de Roma |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 호랑이도 제 말 하면 온다 horang'i-do je mal hamyeon onda |
| 日本語 | 噂をすれば uwasa o sureba, 噂をすれば影 uwasa o sureba kage, 噂をすれば影がさす uwasa o sureba kage ga sasu |
| 中文 | 說曹操，曹操到 /说曹操 |
| Português | falando do diabo (aparece o rabo) |
| Français | quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue, quand on parle du loup |
| Deutsch | wenn man vom Teufel spricht, dann kommt er, wenn man vom Teufel spricht, dann ist er nicht weit |
| Italiano | parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna |
| Română | vorbești de lup și lupul la ușă |
| Русский | лёгок на поми́не ljógok na pomíne, про се́рого речь, а се́рый навстре́чь pro sérovo rečʹ, a séryj navstréčʹ, о во́лке помо́лвка, а волк и тут o vólke pomólvka, a volk i tut |
Talk about this word "speak of the devil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/speak%20of%20the%20devil. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. speak of the devil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/speak%20of%20the%20devil "speak of the devil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/speak%20of%20the%20devil.Cite this
@misc{speak_of_the_devil_2026,
title = {speak of the devil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/speak%20of%20the%20devil},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
