The Devil looks after his own
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: the devil takes care of his own
Meaning · English
Wicked people often seem to prosper or be protected.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Những người xấu thường thịnh vượng hoặc được bảo vệ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: The Devil protects his followers
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “The Devil looks after his own” mean?
Wicked people often seem to prosper or be protected. Literally: The Devil protects his followers
Is “The Devil looks after his own” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.