AH the world and his wife
Preserved but no longer current.
Everyone without exception. The world, the flesh, and the devil. "The world,*' i.e. the things of this world, in contra- distinction to religious matters; "the flesh," i.e. love of pleasure and sensual enjoyments; "the devil," i.e. all temptations to evil of every kind, as theft, murder, lying, blasphemy, and so on.
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 “AH the world and his wife” mean?
Everyone without exception. The world, the flesh, and the devil. "The world,*' i.e. the things of this world, in contra- distinction to religious matters; "the flesh," i.e. love of pleasure and sensual enjoyments; "the devil," i.e. all temptations to evil of every kind, as theft, murder, lying, blasphemy, and so on.
Is “AH the world and his wife” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.