speak of the devil and he appears
Synonym of speak of the devil.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Speak of the devil and he appears, here is the boss now.”
“We were just talking about our neighbor when he walked in; speak of the devil and he appears.”
“Just as we began discussing his mysterious absence, he stepped through the door, proving that speak of the devil and he appears is often true.”
- 01
blue devils
Low spirits; depression.
- 02
dance with the devil
To engage in risky and immoral behavior.
- 03
devil dancing
Risky, reckless or potentially immoral behavior.
- 04
devil in disguise
A person or thing that appears to be good, honest, or upstanding, but is inherently nasty, evil, or damaging.
- 05
devil lies in the details
Synonym of devil is in the details.
- 06
devil's advocate
One who debates from a viewpoint which one may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity or simply for the sake of argument.
- 07
devil's luck
astounding good luck.
- 08
folk devil
A person or type of person blamed by the public for various ills, as during a moral panic.
Last updated August 10, 2026