speak of the devil and he shall appear
Alternative form of speak of the devil.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear, there is John now.”
“We were just talking about our boss when he walked in; speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
“As they discussed the rival candidate's sudden arrival, the man himself entered the room, proving that speak of the devil and he shall appear remains a fitting observation.”
- 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