14 Comments
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Sum's avatar

My mother made “Devil’s Food Cake” which was a deep, dark chocolate.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

You've already got the most likes for this comment!

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

Christians invented the devil, that tracks.

I choose Sympathy for the Devil

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I wanted so badly to include some of those lyrics, but couldn't quite place it. But hey, that's what comments are for, and you are an extended part of my mind's network, so this works!

Really great song that has grown on me over the years.

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Andrew Sniderman 🕷️'s avatar

I love it, because first I just liked the beat and then I started paying attention to the lyrics and I was like whaaaat!?

I think the best stories have a bit you have to figure out for yourself

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Daniel Nest's avatar

So many sayings.

Don't count your devils before they hatch.

Better one imp in the hand than two devils in the fire pit.

Don't look a gift devil in the gaping maw.

Catch a devil by the horns.

The list is practically endless, much like the eternal suffering of tortured souls in Hell.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I don't want to play Daniel's advocate here, but this is actually pretty clever.

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Dr Sea's avatar

In Austria, a very common saying is "Den Teufel an die Wand malen" (painting the devil on the wall) - which means always expecting the worst outcome and overdramatising

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I like that one! It's like you can make it come true, become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That's another type of devil.

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Ana Valeanu's avatar

I really appreciated the rigor and research behind this article.

My quote is inspired by Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, where the extraterrestrials, who look like devils, aren’t frightening in themselves, but become so through the image humanity projects onto them.

It’s not reality that frightens us, but the face we give it.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Thanks, Ana! This was fun.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

It is alleged that blues musician Robert Johnson made a pact with the Devil in order to improve his skills, which underwent a rapid transformation suddenly during his life. He added to the mystique with the song "Crossroad Blues" (later known as "Crossroads") which implies that he "fell down on [his] knees" to approach the Devil in prayer.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

I love when you bring the blues stories here. That's a great one.

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Frank Bard's avatar

Devil may care. :D

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