To set the DEVIL on sale

Insights

Extreme Dishonesty

To commit an act of such profound fraudulence or moral bankruptcy that it is likened to commodifying evil itself, surpassing all ordinary standards of deceit.

Inciting Chaos

To create a public uproar or scandal of such magnitude that it is equivalent to unleashing the Devil in a public forum, inviting widespread condemnation and disorder.

Ultimate Transgression

Refers to an action so audacious and wicked that it appears to challenge or even outdo the very concept of evil, representing a monumental breach of moral and social order.

Theological Hyperbole

The proverb leverages the potent theological figure of the Devil, a symbol of absolute evil in the 16th century, to create a powerful hyperbole for an act of supreme dishonesty or moral outrage.

Psychological Boundary-Crossing

It points to a psychological willingness to shatter fundamental societal taboos. The act of 'selling the Devil' signifies a complete and shocking disregard for religious and moral conventions.

Moral Inversion

The phrase implies a world turned upside down, where the most sacred prohibitions are violated and even evil itself becomes a commodity, reflecting a deep-seated anxiety about social and moral decay.

Rhetorical Devices

Hyperbole

The central device is extreme exaggeration; the impossible act of selling the Devil is used to emphasize the shocking nature of a real-world transgression.

Symbolism

The 'Devil' serves as a powerful, universally understood symbol of ultimate evil, chaos, and temptation, giving the phrase its profound weight and impact.

Irony

The phrase can be used ironically to highlight the sheer scale of an action's dishonesty, as when an exceptionally deceitful story is deemed 'meete to set the dyuell on sale.'