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357. Why Embrace the Devil

Posted on October 29, 2025October 28, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-05-04 at 10.52.46 AM

The photo above will, if you click it, bring you to a five-star recipe for deviled eggs. I bet that since Halloween is coming up, when you saw "Why Embrace the Devil," your first thought wasn't about eggs, was it?

In fact, when I came up with the title for this post, I wasn't thinking about anything nefarious; I was thinking about language. Consider these expressions:

  • The devil's in the details. (getting something exactly right)
  • It was a devil to do X or Y. (a difficult task)
  • Catch the devil for doing something. (punishment or scorn)
  • Better the devil you know. (to avoid doing something risky)
  • He's a crafty devil. (someone who's clever)
  • Devil-may-care (a breezy attitude)
  • Fight like the devil (work hard)
  • A lucky devil (has great luck)
  • Devil's advocate (thinks of both sides)
  • Give the devil his due (acknowledge that people aren't all bad)
  • Idle hands are the devil's workshop. (People should stay busy.)
  • Devil's food cake (dark chocolate -- not my favorite, but I know many people love it)

Lots of these expressions provide useful reminders. What's your favorite "devil" phrase? Please share your thoughts in the comments and have a devil of a Halloween (whatever that means to you)!

6 thoughts on “357. Why Embrace the Devil”

  1. Stefan Sage says:
    October 29, 2025 at 2:32 pm

    The devil made me do it!! By luck, a six word story!!! (so is that!)

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      October 29, 2025 at 3:15 pm

      I love both of those stories! (6)
      Yes, great way to deny responsibility. (6)

      Reply
  2. Viveca says:
    October 29, 2025 at 9:05 pm

    When I was in Omaha last year, the thing I wanted to do most was go to a restaurant with 50 kinds of deviled eggs, but alas it had closed. Fortunately, it turned out that Omaha was lovely, and there were plenty of other things to do.

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      October 29, 2025 at 10:08 pm

      I like having ONE deviled egg now and again, but the idea of eating fifty of them seems problematic. I’m glad you had fun without going overboard on deviled eggs!

      Reply
  3. David M says:
    October 30, 2025 at 2:08 am

    My favorite? Devil if I know.

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      October 30, 2025 at 11:29 am

      This is a funny one, I think, because it means “I don’t know,” but then I’d be deviled, right?

      Reply

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • 359. Why Count Up
  • 358. Why Count Down
  • NetGalley Review of Not You Again
  • 357. Why Embrace the Devil
  • NetGalley Review of We Fell Apart
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