Blue devils. See under Blue.Cartesian devil. See under Cartesian.Devil bird(Zoöl.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery.Devil may care, reckless, defiant of authority; — used adjectively. Longfellow.Devil's apron (Bot.), the large kelp (Laminaria saccharina, and L. longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron.Devil's coachhorse. (Zoöl.) (a) The black rove beetle [Eng.] (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect (Prionotus cristatus); the wheel bug. [U.S.] — Devil's darning-needle. (Zoöl.) See under Darn, v. t.Devil's fingers, Devil's hand (Zoöl.), the common British starfish (Asterias rubens); — also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.] — Devil's riding-horse(Zoöl.), the American mantis The Devil's tattoo, a drumming with the fingers or feet. "Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels." F. HardmanDevil worship, worship of the power of evil; — still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power.Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work etc. "Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer." Macaulay.Tasmanian devil(Zoöl.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]

Devil
(Dev"il) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deviled or Devilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Deviling or Devilling.]

1. To make like a devil; to invest with the character of a devil.

2. To grill with Cayenne pepper; to season highly in cooking, as with pepper.

A deviled leg of turkey.
W. Irving.

Devil-diver
(Dev"il-div`er Dev"il bird`) n.. (Zoöl.) A small water bird. See Dabchick.

Deviless
(Dev"il*ess) n. A she- devil. [R.] Sterne.

Devilet
(Dev"il*et) n. A little devil. [R.] Barham.

Devilfish
(Dev"il*fish`) n. (Zoöl.) (a) A huge ray (Manta birostris or Cephaloptera vampyrus) of the Gulf of Mexico and Southern Atlantic coasts. Several other related species take the same name. See Cephaloptera. (b) A large cephalopod, especially the very large species of Octopus and Architeuthis.

2. An evil spirit; a demon.

A dumb man possessed with a devil.
Matt. ix. 32.

3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. "That devil Glendower." "The devil drunkenness." Shak.

Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
John vi. 70.

4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low]

The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser.
Shak.

The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there.
Pope.

5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.

Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron.
Sir W. Scott.

6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc.


  By PanEris using Melati.

Previous chapter/page Back Home Email this Search Discuss Bookmark Next chapter/page
Copyright: All texts on Bibliomania are © Bibliomania.com Ltd, and may not be reproduced in any form without our written permission. See our FAQ for more details.