The villagers believed a devil had taken control of his body.
村民们认为他被邪魔附身了。
3.speak of the devil (also talk of the devilBritish EnglishBrE) spokenARRIVE used when someone you have just been talking about walks into the room where you are 正说到某人他就来了;说曹操,曹操到
4poor/lucky/handsome etc devilspokenPERSON/PEOPLE used to talk about someone who you feel sorry for, who is lucky etc 可怜/幸运/漂亮等的家伙
What on earth is wrong with the poor devil?
这可怜的家伙到底怎么了?
Examples from the Corpus
poor/lucky/handsome etc devil• He was a handsome devil, clever and presumably extremely well off.• Eliot has it perhaps worse than I have - poor devil.• This isn't a propitious start for him, poor devil.• And the poor devil can't hide a thing from her.• I know bow the poor devil feels.• What on earth was eating the poor devil?• He loathed the sterileritual of inspections, and this poor devil in his untimely end had saved him from that.• I was driving past and tried to stop this poor devil getting beaten up.
5little/old devilspoken used to talk about a child or an older man who behaves badly, but who you like 小鬼头/老鬼头
He’s a naughty little devil.
他是个顽皮的小鬼头。
I really miss the old devil.
我非常想念这老鬼头。
Examples from the Corpus
little/old devil• Impotentold devils and dried-up hags always deride the efforts of the young.• So much, thought Blanche, for flirting with the lasciviousold devil.• There was one old devil with red eyes.• Not that he's the worst of them, poor old devil.• I really miss the old devil.• Indeed, I worship the little devil, but only as a travellingcompanion.• A true old devil, Manson vanishes in a puff of smoke.
6be a devilPERSUADEBritish EnglishBrE spoken used to persuade someone to do something they are not sure they should do 别怕,勇敢些〔用来说服某人做犹豫不决的事〕
Go on, be a devil, have another gin and tonic.
来,怕什么,再来一杯金汤力。
Examples from the Corpus
be a devil• He is a devil from the conservative point of view.• There may be devilsafoot, though not necessarily white.• It was almost as if there was a devilinside him.• Some people considered this stranger to be a devil changed into the illusion of an angel of light, or a witch.
7what/who/why etc the devil?SURPRISEDANNOY old-fashioned spoken used to show that you are surprised or annoyed 究竟是什么鬼名堂/哪个鬼家伙/为什么?〔表示惊讶或恼怒〕
How the devil should I know what she’s thinking?
我怎么会知道她到底在想些什么?
Examples from the Corpus
what/who/why etc the devil?• What the devil are you getting at?• What the devil does he want?• What the devil have you been doing to yourself?• What the devil was he talking about?• Why the devil do you think I came haring over here?• Why the devil was she so stubborn?• Now what the devil was he to do?• So who the devil are these two engaging, literate, drug-free chatterers sitting down the pub?
8a devil of a time/job etcold-fashioned spoken a difficult or unpleasant time, job etc 难熬的时光/费力的工作等
We had a devil of a job trying to get the carpet clean again.
我们费了死劲想重新把地毯清洗干净。
Examples from the Corpus
a devil of a time/job etc• But I've always found the FlyingV and its derivatives a devil of a job to sit down with and play.• If he filled those in they'd have a devil of a joblifting them!• It took me a devil of a time to find it I can tell you.• He was taking a devil of a time to change.
9.go to the devil!old-fashioned spokenLEAVE A PLACE used to tell someone rudely to go away or stopannoying you 滚开!去你的!
10do something like the devilFAST/QUICKSTRONG PERSON old-fashioned spoken to do something very fast or using a lot of force 拼命地做某事,使劲地做某事
They rang the bell and ran like the devil.
他们按了门铃,然后就飞快地跑开了。
Examples from the Corpus
do something like the devil• They rang the doorbell and ran like the devil.• He holds me like the devil himself.• Hencke heard one canisterbounce off the outerhull with a dullecho like the Devil knocking at the door.• It glared and it floated and it flew like the Devil.• Not screaming, although some of them must have fought like the devil not to.• The hitchhiker keeps showing up, like a baddream, like the devil himself.• They scampered off, barking like the devil.• Very good, Thérèse conceded afterwards: just like the Devil would do.
11.better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t)KNOW somebodyused to say that it is better to deal with someone or something you know, even if you do not like them, than to deal with someone or something new that might be worse 宁跟认识的魔鬼打交道(也比跟不认识的魔鬼打交道好),两害相权取其轻
12.between the devil and the deep blue seain a difficult situation because there are only two choices you can make and both of them are unpleasant 进退维谷,左右为难
13.... and the devil take the hindmostused to say that everyone in a situation only cares about what happens to themselves and does not care about other people 要鬼捉不到,抢在人前逃〔形容人人只顾自己而不管别人〕
14.the devil makes/finds work for idle handsused to say that people who do not have enough to do will start to do bad things 人闲魔鬼找〔指人有空闲就会做坏事〕
devil• Beside him stood a devil in redtights with horns and a forkedtail.• If we come really unstuck, then we can blame the devil!• But he was an old man nevertheless, with young boys being so close and full of the devil.• There was a representation of the devil carrying off the wicked to Hades.• The Bible makes it clear that the devil and his forces are the masters of misrepresentation.• I said, if it wasn't true, then the devils would be exorcized.• What the devil does he want?
VERB + DEVIL | DEVIL + NOUN | PHRASESVERB + DEVIL➤believe in相信魔鬼的存在◇Do you believe in the Devil?你相信魔鬼存在嗎?➤worship崇拜魔鬼▸➤be possessed by被魔鬼附身◇He behaved like someone possessed by devils.他的行為像着了魔一樣。DEVIL + NOUN➤worship對魔鬼的崇拜▸➤worshipper崇拜魔鬼的人PHRASES➤the devil incarnate (figurative) 魔鬼的化身◇His views make him the devil incarnate to extreme conservatives.他的觀點使他在極端保守黨人眼中成了魔鬼的化身。