spiːk əv ðə ˈdevl
General
informal
beginner
- Literally:
- Talking about the devil
What does "speak of the devil" mean?
- Said when someone appears just as they're being mentioned
- The person being discussed has arrived
Examples
- Speak of the devil—here comes John now!
- We were just talking about you. Speak of the devil!
- And speak of the devil, she just walked in.
Origin
Short for 'speak of the devil and he shall appear.' From superstition that mentioning the devil would summon him.
How to use it
Friendly expression, not actually calling someone a devil. Very common coincidence marker.
Similar expressions
talk of the devil
speaking of which
Opposites
no equivalent
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "speak of the devil" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.