the devil among the tailors
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Said when a good slanging match is in progress; it is also the name of a game in which a top (the "devil") is spun among a number of wooden men ("tailors") and knocks down as many as possible.
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 “the devil among the tailors” mean?
Said when a good slanging match is in progress; it is also the name of a game in which a top (the "devil") is spun among a number of wooden men ("tailors") and knocks down as many as possible.
Is “the devil among the tailors” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.