the devil is in the details
1
7.6
- idiom
:
el diablo está en los detalles
- When planning a wedding, it is important to remember that the devil is in the details, as small oversights can lead to big problems.
- many things, the devil is in the details
Examples
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And of course, the devil is in the details.
Blog text (27) -
And always when it comes to policy, the devil is in the details.
Blog text (8) -
Again, the devil is in the details.
Blog text (10) -
In principle, this is an excellent idea, but like all things, the devil is in the details.
Blog text (15) -
It's hard to argue with any of these aims as goals, but, of course, as always, the devil is in the details.
Blog text (8) -
That doesn't necessarily mean that they were more effective subsidies, as the devil is in the details, but it sure shows the vacuousness of your "Obama sucks and no facts will change my mind on that" argument.
Blog text (27) -
The project seemed straightforward, but my team discovered that the devil is in the details and we needed to refine our approach.
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In any contract negotiation, you must keep in mind that the devil is in the details, which can significantly impact the agreement.
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + devil + be + in + the + detail
The phrase maps ‘devil’ (trouble/evil) onto ‘details’ (small parts), so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer that small, overlooked elements may cause problems. However the expression is metaphorical and idiomatic rather than a literal compositional phrase, so the exact pragmatic sense may not be fully predictable without exposure despite cross‑linguistic parallels.
Etymology
The devil is in the details comes from a simple image: the dangerous part, the devil, hides in the small parts, the details, of a plan. That image shows that tiny, easy to miss things can 'cause big problems', so we use the phrase to warn about hidden difficulties.