proverb · Words worth keeping
An idle man is the devil’s playfellow.
An idle man is the devil’s playfellow.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes an idle man the devil’s playfellow. It gives inactivity a threatening moral companion.
What the words are saying
The religious image associates idleness with wrongdoing without describing an actual act. A critical application can distinguish purposeful activity from needed rest, unemployment or contemplation. The phrase does not verify a supernatural cause or make lack of paid work evidence of bad character.
Everyday example
A reader asks what conduct is actually being criticised rather than treating rest as wrongdoing.
When to use it
Use it to analyse a moral warning with its religious image acknowledged.
What it does not mean
Inactivity does not prove wrongdoing, and supernatural action is not verified.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 221; PDF page 36
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.