idle hands make work for the devil
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Synonym of idle hands are the devil's workshop.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Dạng đồng nghĩa của bàn tay nhàn rỗi là xưởng của quỷ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “idle hands make work for the devil” mean?
Synonym of idle hands are the devil's workshop.
Is “idle hands make work for the devil” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.