![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randi2204 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_grammarWelcome to another edition of Say What? Beware of the Devil—today we’ll be taking a look at two sayings that have Old Nick in common, namely “Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost,” and “He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon.” We’ll be assisted by our friends from the Magnificent Seven.
Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost
This saying is probably better known in its separate parts than it is all together. In fact, the first written use involves the latter half only and appears in Beaumont and Fletcher’s 1611 play Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding. There it appears as “They run all away, and cry, ‘the devil take the hindmost’.” Surprisingly, this is the part that, in today’s world, is less likely to be commonly used. You may have heard the first part in some movie or other, particularly in a battle scene.
The world can be a cutthroat place, today even more so than in years gone by, and that’s what this saying reflects. Every man for himself, of course, means just what it says—worry about yourself first and let others take care of themselves. Let the Devil take the hindmost may be a bit more obscure. Imagine, however, that battle scene on the big screen. One force is overwhelmingly stronger than the other, and the soldiers on the side facing defeat break and run. The victorious force gives pursuit, and captures or kills any enemy soldier it comes upon, meaning those too slow or too injured to get away—they are the hindmost. A similar sentiment is found in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, when Jack Sparrow tells Will Turner that the Pirate Code says “any man who falls behind is left behind.”
It’s interesting to note that in Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, one of the songs sung by Raoul and the Phantom is called Devil Take the Hindmost.
Just because the Devil is involved doesn’t mean your characters can’t have fun:
He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
The Devil, according to the Christian Bible as well as the mythology that has sprung up around him, is the source of all evil and temptation, and is painted as a pretty nasty character. If one had to hang around him, or perhaps even chose to take a meal with him, one is on very shaky ground, and would do well to keep a safe distance. So this proverb has come to mean that while dealing with someone who is dangerous, it’s best to stay on guard.
It first appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as “Therfore bihoveth hire a ful long spoon/That shal ete with a feend,” fiend being similar to devil. In 1545, Taverner, in his translation of Erasmus’ Adages, actually changes the word fiend to devil: “He had need to haue a longe spone that shuld eate with the deuyl.” Of course, with such a storied history, we should hardly be surprised to discover Shakespeare included it in one of his works. It’s found in act IV, scene iii of Comedy of Errors in a form very similar to the one we’re delving into. Dromio says to Antipholus, “Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.”
Staying away from someone with bad intentions is usually the best policy, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided:
Despite the bad rap that being the embodiment of wickedness carries, being the Devil has at least one perk: a lot of proverbs mention you by name. It’s not always in the most flattering light, true, but sometimes, you’ve just got to give the Devil his due.
Sources:
Every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost
This saying is probably better known in its separate parts than it is all together. In fact, the first written use involves the latter half only and appears in Beaumont and Fletcher’s 1611 play Philaster, or Love Lies a-Bleeding. There it appears as “They run all away, and cry, ‘the devil take the hindmost’.” Surprisingly, this is the part that, in today’s world, is less likely to be commonly used. You may have heard the first part in some movie or other, particularly in a battle scene.
The world can be a cutthroat place, today even more so than in years gone by, and that’s what this saying reflects. Every man for himself, of course, means just what it says—worry about yourself first and let others take care of themselves. Let the Devil take the hindmost may be a bit more obscure. Imagine, however, that battle scene on the big screen. One force is overwhelmingly stronger than the other, and the soldiers on the side facing defeat break and run. The victorious force gives pursuit, and captures or kills any enemy soldier it comes upon, meaning those too slow or too injured to get away—they are the hindmost. A similar sentiment is found in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, when Jack Sparrow tells Will Turner that the Pirate Code says “any man who falls behind is left behind.”
It’s interesting to note that in Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, one of the songs sung by Raoul and the Phantom is called Devil Take the Hindmost.
Just because the Devil is involved doesn’t mean your characters can’t have fun:
It was, Josiah decided, the quintessential mid-summer day. It was hot and sticky, the air heavy and not a cloud in sight; the kind of day where the heat made tempers grow shorter by the minute. It was therefore probably for the best that Vin suggested they ride out to the swimming hole. Before they’d gotten more than a half-mile out of town, JD and Buck galloped on ahead, whooping and hollering.
“What’s your hurry, son?” Josiah called.
“Race ya!” JD shouted back. “It’s every man for himself!”
“And the Devil take the hindmost,” Josiah murmured, grinning as he kicked his horse into a run.
He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
The Devil, according to the Christian Bible as well as the mythology that has sprung up around him, is the source of all evil and temptation, and is painted as a pretty nasty character. If one had to hang around him, or perhaps even chose to take a meal with him, one is on very shaky ground, and would do well to keep a safe distance. So this proverb has come to mean that while dealing with someone who is dangerous, it’s best to stay on guard.
It first appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as “Therfore bihoveth hire a ful long spoon/That shal ete with a feend,” fiend being similar to devil. In 1545, Taverner, in his translation of Erasmus’ Adages, actually changes the word fiend to devil: “He had need to haue a longe spone that shuld eate with the deuyl.” Of course, with such a storied history, we should hardly be surprised to discover Shakespeare included it in one of his works. It’s found in act IV, scene iii of Comedy of Errors in a form very similar to the one we’re delving into. Dromio says to Antipholus, “Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.”
Staying away from someone with bad intentions is usually the best policy, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided:
Josiah eyed the dilapidated saloon with no little concern. “You sure about this, Ezra?”
He knew it was bad when Ezra didn’t even roll his eyes. “Indeed not. However, while Mister Creed is an ill-mannered, ill-favored, short-tempered, evil son of a drunkard who has likely left dozens of bodies in his wake, he’s also the only person who might tell us where Mister Larabee presently is.” Then he clapped Josiah on the shoulder. “His aim is simply deplorable. I’ll be sure to keep my distance.”
As Ezra entered the saloon, Josiah muttered, “You’d better, Ezra. He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon.”
Despite the bad rap that being the embodiment of wickedness carries, being the Devil has at least one perk: a lot of proverbs mention you by name. It’s not always in the most flattering light, true, but sometimes, you’ve just got to give the Devil his due.
Sources:
- Phrase Finder here, here, and here
- The Free Dictionary here and here
- Oxford Dictionaries.com here and here
- Answers.com
