a printer's devil
Preserved but no longer current.
A printer's message boy; formerly, the boy who took the printed sheets from the tympan of the press. Moxon says (1683): "They do commonly so black and be- daub themselves that the workmen do jocosely call them devils.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a printer's devil” mean?
A printer's message boy; formerly, the boy who took the printed sheets from the tympan of the press. Moxon says (1683): "They do commonly so black and be- daub themselves that the workmen do jocosely call them devils.
Is “a printer's devil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.