ItalianFare il diavolo a quattro
Meaning: To raise absolute hell; to cause a huge scene.
Literally: To make the devil times four
Example: “I vicini hanno fatto il diavolo a quattro per il rumore.” — The neighbors raised hell about the noise.
English equivalent: To raise hell
Origin: From the religious plays (sacre rappresentazioni) of the Middle Ages, in which the Devil was a leading character beside God, the Virgin and the saints. The Hoepli dictionary of idioms explains that people classed these plays as "great" or "small" diavolerie according to whether more or fewer than four devils appeared, the great ones being the noisiest and wildest. Raising the devil by fours is making a huge racket or scene, or moving heaven and earth to get something.
Equivalents in other languages
Hindi: आसमान सिर पर उठाना (aasmaan sir par uthaana) Literally: To lift the sky onto your head
English: raise hell
Spanish: armar la de san Quintín Literally: To arm the one of Saint Quintín- English: raise Cain
French: Faire du ramdam Literally: To make ramadan
More Italian idioms
- Acqua in bocca Keep it secret; don't tell anyone.
- Essere al verde To be broke; to have no money left.
- avere la coda di paglia Feel guilty about something because you're afraid of being discovered or criticized.
- mangiare la foglia Understand someone's hidden intentions or see through their deception immediately.
- avere un diavolo per capello Be extremely angry or agitated, ready to argue with anyone about anything.
- essere un osso duro Be a difficult, stubborn person who is challenging to deal with or influence.
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- La superbia andò a cavallo e tornò a piedi Arrogance leads to a fall.
- Chi non risica non rosica If you don't take risks, you won't gain anything.
- L'unione fa la forza People who stand together are stronger than any of them alone.
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