to say the devil's paternoster
Preserved but no longer current.
To grumble; to rail at providence. To whip the devil round the stump. An American phrase meaning to enjoy the fruits of evil-doing without having to suffer the penalty; to dodge a difficulty dishonestly but successfully.
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 “to say the devil's paternoster” mean?
To grumble; to rail at providence. To whip the devil round the stump. An American phrase meaning to enjoy the fruits of evil-doing without having to suffer the penalty; to dodge a difficulty dishonestly but successfully.
Is “to say the devil's paternoster” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.