Italianavere un diavolo per capello
Meaning: Be extremely angry or agitated, ready to argue with anyone about anything.
Literally: To have a devil for each hair
Example: “Dopo la multa aveva un diavolo per capello.” — After the fine, he was hopping mad.
English equivalent: Hopping mad
Origin: No source firmly settles the exact origin, though two threads plausibly feed into it. One reaches for medieval folk belief holding that demons could physically hide themselves among a person's hair, tugging and stirring up trouble from that hidden vantage point — a devil "per capello," one for every single hair, being about as thoroughly beset by torment as a person could be. A second, more literary influence points to Dante's Divine Comedy, whose vivid depictions of devils in Hell fed directly into popular imagination; one recurring image has demons yanking at the hair of the damned who let themselves be overtaken by wrathful anger, translating an infernal punishment directly into an earthly description of someone in the grip of their own fury.
Equivalents in other languages
English: hopping mad
More Italian idioms
- essere un osso duro Be a difficult, stubborn person who is challenging to deal with or influence.
- piangere sul latte versato Waste time regretting something that cannot be changed or undone.
- Prendere due piccioni con una fava To achieve two goals with a single effort.
- Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca To want to have it both ways.
- Ogni morte di papa Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon.
- Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto To be unable to see what is right in front of you.
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