'Devil's hand' definitions:

Definition of 'Devil's hand'

From: GCIDE
  • Devil \Dev"il\, n. [AS. de['o]fol, de['o]ful; akin to G. ?eufel, Goth. diaba['u]lus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. ? the devil, the slanderer, fr. ? to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; ? across + ? to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
  • 1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [1913 Webster]
  • [Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil. --Luke iv. 2. [1913 Webster]
  • That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. --Rev. xii. 9. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. An evil spirit; a demon. [1913 Webster]
  • A dumb man possessed with a devil. --Matt. ix. 32. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. "That devil Glendower." "The devil drunkenness." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? --John vi. 70. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low] [1913 Webster]
  • The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil they got there. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper. [1913 Webster]
  • Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • Blue devils. See under Blue.
  • Cartesian devil. See under Cartesian.
  • Devil bird (Zool.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes (Edolius retifer, and Edolius remifer), believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery.
  • Devil may care, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used adjectively. --Longfellow.
  • Devil's apron (Bot.), the large kelp ({Laminaria saccharina}, and Laminaria longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron.
  • Devil's coachhorse. (Zool.) (a) The black rove beetle (Ocypus olens). [Eng.] (b) A large, predacious, hemipterous insect ({Prionotus cristatus}); the wheel bug. [U.S.]
  • Devil's darning-needle. (Zool.) See under Darn, v. t.
  • Devil's fingers, Devil's hand (Zool.), the common British starfish (Asterias rubens); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.]
  • Devil's riding-horse (Zool.), the American mantis ({Mantis Carolina}).
  • The Devil's tattoo, a drumming with the fingers or feet. "Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels." --F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.).
  • Devil worship, worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power.
  • Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. "Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer." --Macaulay.
  • Tasmanian devil (Zool.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania (Dasyurus ursinus syn. {Diabolus ursinus}).
  • To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low] [1913 Webster]