Speak of the devil
"Speak of the devil" is the short form of the idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear". It is used when an object of discussion unexpectedly becomes present during the conversation. For example, if Alice and Bob start discussing Charlie while he isn't in the room, and Charlie walks into the room, Alice or Bob might say, "Speak of the devil!"
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".
The phrase is an abbreviation of English proverb, "Speak of the devil and he doth appear." Deriving from the Middle Ages, this proverb (which was, and to a certain extent still is, rendered as "Talk of the Devil...") was a superstitious prohibition against speaking directly of the Devil or of evil in general, which was considered to incite that party to appear, generally with unfortunate consequences. 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."
The phrase lost its overt message during the 19th century, during which it became a warning against eavesdroppers ("No good of himself does a listener hear,/Speak of the devil he's sure to appear"), and by the 20th century had taken on its present meaning.
In other languages
- Afrikaans: "Praat van die duiwel en jy trap op sy stert", which translates to "Speak of the devil and you step on its tail."
- Albanian: "Kujto qenin e bëj gati shkopin", which translates to "Remember the dog and prepare the stick."
- Arabic: Several, based on dialect and usage.
- Modern Standard Arabic: "عمرك طويل" (`Umrak ṭawīl), which translates to "A long life for you (whom we spoke of)."
- Egyptian Arabic:
- "جبنا سيرة القط، جاء ينط" (Gibna sirt al-'uṭṭ, ga yanuṭṭ), which translates to "We brought up the tale of the cat, and now here he comes jumping."
- "يا ريت قلت ميليون جنيه" (Ya reet 'ult milyōn ginieh), which translates to "Would that I had said 'a million pounds'!". May also be used jocularly or insultingly when altered to say "يا ريت قلت ربع جنيه مخروم" (Ya reet 'ult rub` gineh makhrūm), "Would that I had said 'a quarter-pound piece with a hole in it'."
- Bulgarian: "Говорим за вълка, а той - в кошарата", (Govorim za vulka, a toi - v kosharata) translated as "Speak of the wolf and it is at the door."
- Croatian: "Mi o vuku, a vuk na vrata", which translates to "When we talk about the wolf, he stands behind the door."
- Czech: "My o vlku, a vlk za dveřmi", which translates to "Speak of the wolf, and he will stand just outside the door."
- Danish: "Når man taler om solen, så skinner den", which translates to "When you speak of the sun, it shines."
- 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."
- Finnish: "Siinä paha missä mainitaan", which translates to "Evil is where it's mentioned."
- French: "Quand on parle du loup, (on en voit la queue)", which translates to "When one speaks of the wolf, (one sees its tail)."
- 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.
- 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".
- Hebrew: "מדברים על החמור, והנה הוא בא", "M'dabrim 'al ha-khamor, ve-hinei hu ba" - "Talking about the donkey, and here it comes". Typically shortened to just "M'dabrim 'al ha-khamor..."
- Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu): "Shaitan ka na'am lo, shaitan hazir" which translates to "Speak of the devil, and he will appear."
- Hungarian: "Ne fesd az ördögöt a falra, mert megjelenik." which translates to "Don't paint the devil on the wall or he will appear." Other (older, rural) version is "Farkast emlegetnek, a kert alatt jár." which translates to "Wolf is being mentioned, it walks under [at the side of] the garden." and is a derivation of the Latin proverb "Lupus in fabula" ("Wolf in the tale.").
- 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".
- Indonesian: "Wah, panjang umur dia" which translates to "A long life for you, whom we spoke of."
- Irish proverb: "Speak to the Devil and you'll hear his hooves clatter."
- Italian: "Parli del diavolo e spuntano le corna", which translates as "Talk of the Devil and the horns will appear."
- Japanese: "うわさをすれば影” (uwasa o sureba kage), which translates to "Gossip (about someone) and (his) shadow (will appear)."
- Korean: "호랑이도 제 말하면 온다” (horangi do jae malhamyun onda), which translates to "If you talk about a tiger, it will appear."
- Latvian: "Kā vilku piemin, tā vilks klāt", which translates to "When you speak of the wolf, it arrives."
- Lithuanian: "Vilką mini, vilkas čia", which translates to "When you speak of the wolf, it arrives."
- Norwegian: "Snakker om sola, så skinner'n", which translates to "Speak of the sun, and it shines."
- Persian: "حلال زاده بود", "Halal zade bud", which translates to "He (or she) is a legitimate child."
- Polish: "O wilku mowa, (a wilk tuż tuż).", which translates to "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf is nearby)."
- 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".
- Romanian: "Vorbeşti de lup şi lupul la uşă", translated as "Speak of the wolf and the wolf [is] at the door."
- Russian: "Помяни чёрта(, он и появится)", (Pomyani chorta, on i poyavitsya) translated as "Speak of the devil (and there he is)."
- 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)."
- Shona: Madziro ane nzeve translated as "Walls have ears."
- Slovak: "Spomeň čerta/diabla (, hneď sa zjaví)", translated to "Speak of the devil". The Czech version is used as well.
- Slovenian: "Mi o volku, (volk iz gozda)", translated as "Speak of the wolf (and the wolf comes from the forest)."
- 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).
- 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)."
- Thai: "ตายยากจริง ๆ" (RTGS: "Tai yak ching ching"), literally meaning "How invulnerable he/she is"; for example "ตายยากจริง ๆ. พูดถึงก็มาทันที." ("Tai yak ching ching. Phut thueng ko ma than thi."), meaning "How invulnerable he/she is. Just have talked about him/her, and here he/she is".
- Turkish: "İti an çomağı hazırla", which translates to "Speak of the dog, ready the stick."
- 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"
- Urdu: "Shaitan ka naam liya or Shaitaan hazir", which translates to "uttered about satan and satan is here"
- Vietnamese: "Vừa nhắc Tào Tháo, Tào Tháo tới", which translates to "Speak of Tào Tháo and he appears immediately" (An adaptation of the Chinese proverb, Tào Tháo being the Vietnamese name of Cao Cao)
- Yiddish: "A shod m'hot nisht geredt fun moshiach" which translates to "We should have talked about the Messiah," or "A shame we weren't talking about the Messiah." Another idiom: "Az men redt fun der malech, kumt der galech", which translates to "Talk about the angel, and here comes the priest."
Sources
'Speak of the Devil', from the Phrase Finder