DEVIL TO PAYToday the expression “devil to pay” is used primarily as a means ofconveying an unpleasant and impending happening. Originally, this expressiondenoted the specific task aboard ship of caulking the ship’s longest seam.The “devil” was the longest seam on the wooden ship, and cauling wasdone with “pay” or pitch. This grueling task of paying the devil was despisedby every seaman, and the expression came to denote any unpleasant task.7-34
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