英语词汇speak of the devil的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

speak of the devil. A common saying often heard when two people are talking about somebody and that somebody ap- pears. Originally the phrase was speak of the devil and he will appear, and it was first recorded in a 1672 poem in this sense: “Talk of the devil and see his horns.” Jonathan Swift, however, first recorded the term in its modern sense in Polite Conversa- tions (1738). The French use the similar expression When you speak of the wolf, you see his tail, while an Arabic speaker often uses Thinking of the cat, it comes leaping, and for Germans it’s When you speak of the donkey, he comes running. Still another old saying is talk of the devil and up he pops.

词汇	speak of the devil
词源	speak of the devil. A common saying often heard when two people are talking about somebody and that somebody ap- pears. Originally the phrase was speak of the devil and he will appear, and it was first recorded in a 1672 poem in this sense: “Talk of the devil and see his horns.” Jonathan Swift, however, first recorded the term in its modern sense in Polite Conversa- tions (1738). The French use the similar expression When you speak of the wolf, you see his tail, while an Arabic speaker often uses Thinking of the cat, it comes leaping, and for Germans it’s When you speak of the donkey, he comes running. Still another old saying is talk of the devil and up he pops.
随便看	pullman car pull one-s leg pull out all the stops pull strings pull the string pull the wool over one-s eyes pull up stakes pulse puma pumice pummel pumpernickel pumping iron pumpkin pumpkin head pump priming pun punch punch and judy punch-drunk punching bag punch it punch-s advice punchy punctuation