pull devil pull baker
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Let each one do the best for himself m his own line of business, but let not one man interfere in that of another.
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 “pull devil pull baker” mean?
Let each one do the best for himself m his own line of business, but let not one man interfere in that of another.
Is “pull devil pull baker” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.