Paint the Devil on the wall
Posted by Capable wingnut on November 22, 2001
In Reply to: paint the Devil on the wall posted by ESC on November 22, 2001
: : Is there such an expression in the English language? Someone said it means making things worse than they are, i.e. the opposite of looking on the bright side. I have a feeling that it's a word-by-word translation of n idiom in a foreign language, however.
: I have never heard that phrase and can't find it in any of my references. Anyone heard of it? It sounds like "painting things blacker than they are" or perhaps "hanging crepe" (the custom after a death).
I
found one quote which says;
Do not paint the devil on the wall because it may
come off the wall.
One sourse claims that the phrase is Hungarian and I have
found another claiming that it is a Latvian saying.
Most instances of its use
seem to be in German, Russian and Baltic texts.
It also appears in the song Lyrics of the heavy metal band Megadeth and Rage.
- paint the Devil on the wall R. Berg 11/22/01
- Paint the Devil on the wall ESC 11/22/01