"idle hands are the devil's workshop" meaning in All languages combined

See idle hands are the devil's workshop on Wiktionary

Proverb [English]

Etymology: This proverb is thought by some to originate from the Bible, the book of Proverbs chapter 16 verse 27 (Proverbs 16:27). Yet this is probably a misreading driven by an application of Protestant theological assumptions. The King James version of the verse refers only to ungodliness: An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire. Only The Living Bible of 1971 injects the idea of idleness into its translation: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece. (TLB also adds the literal translation: A worthless man devises mischief; and in his lips there is a scorching fire.) Proverbs 16:27 may have inspired St. Jerome to write in the late 4th century: fac et aliquid operis, ut semper te diabolus inveniat occupatum, or “engage in some occupation, so that the devil may always find you busy.” This was later repeated by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales, which was probably the source of its popularity. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=idle hands are the devil's workshop}} idle hands are the devil's workshop
  1. One who is idle will likely come to do evil. Synonyms: idle hands are the devil's playthings, idle hands are the devil's tools, the devil makes work for idle hands, the devil finds work for idle hands, idle hands make work for the devil, any of these, but with Devil in place of devil Translations (One who is idle will likely come to do evil): lediggang er roden til alt ondt (Danish), luiheid is des duivels oorkussen (Dutch), joutilaat aivot ovat paholaisen työpaja (Finnish), l’oisiveté est la mère de tous les vices (French), Müßiggang ist aller Laster Anfang (German), αργία μητήρ πάσης κακίας (argía mitír pásis kakías) (Greek), δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος, γαμούσε τα παιδιά του (douleiá den eíche o diávolos, gamoúse ta paidiá tou) (Greek), δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος και έπνιγε τα παιδιά του (douleiá den eíche o diávolos kai épnige ta paidiá tou) (Greek), l'ozio è il padre dei vizi (Italian), próżność doprowadza do zła (Polish), mente vazia, oficina do diabo. (Portuguese), cuando el diablo no tiene qué hacer, mata moscas con el rabo (Spanish)

Alternative forms

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        "One who is idle will likely come to do evil."
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          "word": "idle hands are the devil's playthings"
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          "word": "idle hands are the devil's tools"
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          "word": "the devil makes work for idle hands"
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        {
          "word": "the devil finds work for idle hands"
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          "word": "idle hands make work for the devil"
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        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "lediggang er roden til alt ondt"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "luiheid is des duivels oorkussen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "joutilaat aivot ovat paholaisen työpaja"
        },
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          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "l’oisiveté est la mère de tous les vices"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "Müßiggang ist aller Laster Anfang"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "argía mitír pásis kakías",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "αργία μητήρ πάσης κακίας"
        },
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          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "douleiá den eíche o diávolos, gamoúse ta paidiá tou",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος, γαμούσε τα παιδιά του"
        },
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          "code": "el",
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          "roman": "douleiá den eíche o diávolos kai épnige ta paidiá tou",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
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          "code": "it",
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          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "l'ozio è il padre dei vizi"
        },
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          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "próżność doprowadza do zła"
        },
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          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
          "word": "mente vazia, oficina do diabo."
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
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        }
      ]
    }
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      "word": "idle hands are the devil's playthings"
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      "word": "idle hands are the devil's tools"
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      "word": "the devil makes work for idle hands"
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      "word": "the devil finds work for idle hands"
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    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "lediggang er roden til alt ondt"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "luiheid is des duivels oorkussen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "joutilaat aivot ovat paholaisen työpaja"
    },
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      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "l’oisiveté est la mère de tous les vices"
    },
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      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "Müßiggang ist aller Laster Anfang"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "argía mitír pásis kakías",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "αργία μητήρ πάσης κακίας"
    },
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      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "douleiá den eíche o diávolos, gamoúse ta paidiá tou",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος, γαμούσε τα παιδιά του"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "douleiá den eíche o diávolos kai épnige ta paidiá tou",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "δουλειά δεν είχε ο διάβολος και έπνιγε τα παιδιά του"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "l'ozio è il padre dei vizi"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "próżność doprowadza do zła"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "mente vazia, oficina do diabo."
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "One who is idle will likely come to do evil",
      "word": "cuando el diablo no tiene qué hacer, mata moscas con el rabo"
    }
  ],
  "word": "idle hands are the devil's workshop"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-09-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-09-20 using wiktextract (af5c55c and 66545a6). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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