"Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). It is used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation. It can also be used about a topic that quickly becomes relevant, such as the onset of rain or a car breaking down. Used in this sense it can be seen as an alternative to the phrase "tempting fate".
Deriving from the English Middle Ages, this phrase (which can be rendered as "talk of the devil ...")[1] was a superstitious prohibition against speaking directly of the Devil or of evil in general, which was considered to incite that party to appear,[original research?] generally with unfortunate consequences.[original research?] Its first printed usage in modern English can be found in Giovanni Torriano's Piazza Universale (1666), as "The English say, Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow."[This quote needs a citation]
In other languages
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Afrikaans: "Praat van die duiwel en jy trap op sy stert", which translates to "Speak of the devil and you step on his tail."[citation needed]
Bulgarian: "Говорим за вълка, а той - в кошарата", translated as "Speak of the wolf and it is in the sheep pen."[citation needed]
Catalan: "No es pot dir mal que no surti l'animal", meaning "You can't speak evil [of someone] without the animal turning up". "Parlant del dimoni, vet aquí les banyes" (Speak of the devil, here are his horns). "Parla del llop i s'et presentarà" (Speak of the wolf and it will turn up). "Parla del gos, amaneix la pedra" (Speak of the dog, get a stone ready).[citation needed]
Chinese: "說曹操，曹操到", which translates to "When we talk about Mr. Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives." Cao Cao (曹操, 155-220 CE) was a historical figure in Chinese history, a prime minister of the Wei Kingdom (魏) in the Three Kingdom (三國) period in China. This is in line with the Buddha's teaching: "everything is made from the mind alone" 一切法由心想生. [citation needed]
Croatian: "Mi o vuku, a vuk na vrata", which translates to "When we talk about the wolf, he stands behind the door." [citation needed]
Czech: "My o vlku, a vlk za dveřmi", which translates to "Speak of the wolf, and he will stand just outside the door." Also "My o hovně, a hovno na botě", "We speak of the shit, and shit is on the shoe".[citation needed]
Danish: "Når man taler om solen, så skinner den", which translates to "When you speak of the sun, it shines."[citation needed]
Dutch: "Als je het over de duivel hebt, trap je op zijn staart", which translates to "If you speak of the devil, you step on his tail."[citation needed]
Esperanto: "Ne voku diablon, ĉar li povas aperi", which translates to "Don't call a devil for he might appear."[2] Alternatively, "Pri la lupo rakonto, kaj la lupo renkonte", which roughly translates to "Tell a story about the wolf, and the wolf will encounter you."[3]
Estonian: "Kus hundist räägid, (seal ta on)" — where you speak of the wolf, (there he is)[4][5]
French: "Quand on parle du loup, (on en voit sa queue)", which translates to "When one speaks of the wolf, (one sees its tail)."[6]
German: "Wenn man vom Teufel spricht..." (speak of the devil) and (older and less common) "Wird der Teufel genannt, kommt er gerannt" translating "call/name the devil and he comes running", both used like the English counterpart. See also "Man darff den teuffel nicht uber die Thuer malen," which translates to "Don't paint the devil over the door," from Martin Luther (WA 18:72), 1525 (see the Hungarian below for comparison). Also, "man soll den Teufel nicht an die Wand malen" (Don't paint the devil on the wall), usage and meaning are the same.[citation needed]
Greek: "Κατά φωνή κι ο γάιδαρος" (Katá foní ki o gáidaros), usually shortened to "Κατά φωνή..." ("Katá foní..." "Speak of..."). The literal meaning is "Speak of the donkey".[citation needed]
Hungarian: "Ne fesd az ördögöt a falra, mert megjelenik." which translates to "Don't paint the devil on the wall or he will appear." Another (older, rural) version is "Farkast emlegetnek, a kert alatt jár." which translates to "speak of a wolf, and it'll be just outside the garden." and is a derivation of the Latin proverb "Lupus in fabula" ("Wolf in the tale.").[citation needed]
However this is mostly used when talking about a possible negative outcome of an event. When talking about a person, "Emlegetett szamár..." is used, which translates to "Mentioned donkey".[citation needed]
Irish: "Tagann gach aon rud lena iomrá ach madadh rua agus marbhán" ("Everything comes when it's talked about except a fox and a corpse"), shortened to "Tagann gach aon rud lena iomrá".[7]
Italian: "Parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna", which translates as "Speak of the Devil and the horns will appear."[8]
Japanese: "うわさをすれば影” (uwasa o sureba kage), which translates to "Gossip (about someone) and (its) shadow (appears)."[9]
Korean: "호랑이도 제 말하면 온다” (horangi do jae malhamyun onda), which translates to "Even a tiger will come to you if you talk about it."[10]
Latvian: "Kā vilku piemin, tā vilks klāt", which translates to "When you speak of the wolf, then it comes."[citation needed]
Lithuanian: "Vilką mini, vilkas čia", which translates to "Wolf is mentioned - wolf is here."[11]
Macedonian: "Ние за волкот, а волкот на врата" (Nie za volkot, a volkot na vrata) translated as "Speak of the wolf and the wolf is at the door."[citation needed]
Maltese: "Semmi x-xitan u jidhirlek" which translates to "Mention the Devil and he will appear"[citation needed]
Norwegian: "Når man snakker om sola, så skinner den", which translates to «when you speak of the sun, it will shine."[citation needed]
Polish: "O wilku mowa, (a wilk już tuż).", which translates to "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf is nearby)."[citation needed]
Portuguese: "Falando do rei de Roma," which translates to "speaking of the king of Rome", or "Falando do Diabo...(apareceu o rabo)", which translates "Speak of the devil (his tail appears)" or "Não morre mais!", which translates to "(you) Won't die anymore".[citation needed]
Portuguese (Portugal): “Fala-se no Diabo e aparece-lhe o rabo”,[12] which translates to “Speak of the Devil and his tail appears” or “Fala-se no Diabo e ele aparece”, which translates to “Speak of the Devil and he appears”.[citation needed]
Romanian: "Vorbeşti de lup şi lupul la uşă", translated as "Speak of the wolf and the wolf [is] at the door."[citation needed]
Russian: "Помяни чёрта(, он и появится)", (Pomyani chorta, on i poyavitsya) translated as "Speak of the devil (and there he is)." alternative: "Лёгок на помине", ("L'ogok na pomine") translated as "Somebody who appeared when they were mentioned".[citation needed]
Serbian: "Ми о вуку, (вук на врата)", (Mi o vuku, vuk na vrata) translated as "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf [is] at the door)."[citation needed]
Slovak: "My o vlku a vlk za dverami", translated to "Speak of the wolf and the wolf is behind the doors". The Czech version is used as well.[citation needed]
Slovenian: "Mi o volku, (volk iz gozda)", translated as "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf comes from the forest)." [citation needed]
Spanish: "Hablando del rey de Roma" (literally "Speaking of the King of Rome") is an equivalent, also an abbreviation, in this case of "Hablando del Rey de Roma, por la puerta asoma" (Speaking of the King of Rome, through the door he appears), also said in Argentina "Hablando de Roma, el burro se asoma" (literally "Speaking of Rome, the donkey appears").[13]
Swedish: "När man talar om trollen (så står de i farstun)", which translates to "When you speak of the trolls (they stand in the entrance hall)."[citation needed]
Turkish: "İti an, çomağı hazırla", which translates to "Speak of the dog, ready the stick", or "İyi insan lafının üzerine gelirmiş", which translates to "a good person shows up when you speak about them"[citation needed]
Ukrainian: "Про вовка промовка, а вовк у хату", (Pro vovka promovka, a vovk u khatu) which translates to "A word about wolf, and wolf comes to a house"[citation needed]
Urdu: "Shaitan ka naam liya or Shaitaan hazir", which translates to "take the name of Satan and Satan appears."[citation needed]
Yiddish: "מע זאָל דערמאָנען משיחן" (me zol dermonen mshikhn) which translates to "We should have talked about the Messiah,"[14][15] or "אַ שאָד מ'האָט נישט גערעדט פֿון משיח" (a shod m'hot nisht geredt fun mshikh), which translates to "A shame we weren't talking about the Messiah."[citation needed] Another idiom is "אַז מען דערמאָנט דעם מלאך קומט דער גלח" (az men dermont dem malekh kumt der galekh), which translates to "Talk about the angel, and here comes the priest" but which Alexander Harkavy's Vocabulary of Cognate Words in English and Yiddish compares to "Talk of the angel, and you'll hear his wings."[16]
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The dictionary definition of speak of the devil at Wiktionary
