devilment (devlment)

-ment.] Deviltry; trickery; roguishne ; mischief: often used in a ludicrous sense without nece arily implying malice: as, he did it out of mere devilment. This is our ward, our pretty Rose - brought her up to town to see all the devilments and things. Morton, Secrets worth Knowing, i. 1. Some thin' to keep me hard at it away from all sorts of devilment ? W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 298. devilry (dev'l-ri), n.; pl. devilries (-riz). [ He calleth the Catholike church the Antichristian synagogue, and the vnwritten verities starke lyes and deuilry. Sir T. More, Works, p. 1129. There's mair o' utter deevilry in that woman than in a' the Scotch witches that ever flew by moonlight ower North Berwick Law. Scott , Bride of Lammer moor, iii. 97. But better this honest simplicity than the devilries of the Faust of Goethe. Hazlitt , Dram. Literature. mischief any serious and especially unexpected difficulty or entangle. ment; a difficulty to be overcome: often with the addition, and no pitch hot, to expre want of readine or means the themed certain seperti prig in, devil being a seam so called from awkwardne of acce in calking. See def. 10, and pay. - To give the devil his due, to do justice even to a person of supposed bad character, or to one greatly disliked. To give the devil his due, John Calvin was a great man. Bp. Berkeley. To go to the devil, to go to ruin.- To hold a candle to the devil, to abet an evil-doer.- To play the devil (or very devil) with, to ruin; destroy; molest or hurt extremely. He fights still, In view o' the town; he plays the devil with 'em, And they the Turks with him. Beau . and Fl . , Knight of Malta, i. 1. And, in short, in your own memorable words, to play the very devil with everything and everybody. Dickens , Nicholas Nickle by, xvi. To say the devil's paternoster, to grumble. What devills pater noster is this he is saying? What would he? What saist thou honest man? Is my brother at hand? Terence in English (1614). To whip the devil round the stump, to get round or dodge a difficulty or dilemma by means of a fabricated excuse or explanation. devil (dev'l), vt.; pret. and pp. deviled or der illed, ppr. deviling or devilling. [ IMG:content-2523.png:[blocks in formation] Beau . and Fl . , Knight of Malta, v. 2. 2. A fretful, troublesome woman. [Prov. Eng.] -3. The swift, Cypselus apus . Also called Eng.] in the United States to species of the genus devilish (dev'l-ish), a . [= D. duivelsch = G. Laminaria , an olive-brown alga with a very teuflisch = Sw. djefvulsk = Dan. djævelsk ; as devil + -ish . The earlier adj. was ME. deoftich , sar large, dilated, stipitate lamina, especially to L. deóflic for * deófollic (= OHG. tiufallich = saccharin a, in which the frond is elongated and Icel. djöfulligr ), deófol , devil, +-lic, E. -ly.] 1. entire, with a wavy margin. Characteristic of the devil; befitting the devil, or a devil or demon; diabolical; malignant: as, a devilish scheme; devilish conduct. Gynecia mistrusted greatly Cecropia, because she had heard much of the devilish wickedne of her heart. Sir P. Sidney. We pronounce Count Guido devilish and damnable; His wife Pompilia in thought, word, and deed Was perfect pure, he murdered her for that. Browning , Ring and Book, I. 14. 2. Extreme; enormous. crous.] The stems of the devil's aprons , Laminar iæ, are used by surgical-instrument makers in the manufacture of sponge Farlow , Marine Algæ, p. 9. tents.