the devil is a liar
- idiom
:
el diablo es un mentiroso
- Don't listen to those doubts; the devil is a liar!
Examples
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Whenever I feel discouraged, I remind myself that the devil is a liar.
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She trusted her faith and told herself that the devil is a liar.
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In difficult moments, he would assure his friends, "the devil is a liar."
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Whenever doubt enters your mind, remember that the devil is a liar.
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In difficult moments, he would assure his friends, "the devil is a liar."
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She trusted her faith and told herself that the devil is a liar.
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Whenever doubt enters your mind, remember that the devil is a liar.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally states that the 'devil' (an agent of moral evil) is a 'liar' (someone who tells falsehoods), so its gist — that temptations or negative thoughts are deceptive — follows directly from the constituent meanings. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically familiar religious/metaphorical claim, so a B1 learner who knows 'devil' and 'liar' will likely infer the intended message.
Etymology
The devil is a liar comes from old religious teaching that the devil tries to trick people by telling 'lies'. So people say it to push away doubts and 'temptations' and to remind themselves not to believe bad thoughts.