About This Site

Figaro rips the innards out of things people say and reveals the rhetorical tricks and pratfalls. For terms and definitions, click here.
(What are figures of speech?)
Ask Figaro a question!

  • Contact Me

    This form will allow you to send a secure email to the owner of this page. Your email address is not logged by this system, but will be attached to the message that is forwarded from this page.
  • Your Name *
  • Your Email *
  • Subject *
  • Message *

« Thou Shalt Not Command a Mood | Main | Where the Heck Is Figaro? »
Monday
Apr272015

The Devil to Pay

Figaro often gets asked to talk about idioms. Here’s a recent question sent in to our companion site, ArgueLab.com. It has to do with one of our favorite idioms of all: “There will be the devil to pay.”

No, it’s not from the Bible. The expression comes straight from the British Navy, and it doesn’t mean you’re in danger of going to Hell. It means you’re going to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Watch the video for more, and feel free to email Jay with your own persuasive or figurative questions.

Meanwhile, what’s an idiom? We like to call it the molecule of language: a set of words with its own properties and meaning. You know, the way a molecule is its own thing, made up of atoms.

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
All HTML will be escaped. Hyperlinks will be created for URLs automatically.