Meaning: Said when you’re talking about someone or something and he or she or it suddenly appears. The complete expression is “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

Examples:

Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you!

“Did you hear about Thomas?” “Shh! Here he comes right now!” “Speak of the devil!”

“I wonder if it’s going to snow today.” “Look! It’s snowing!” “Speak of the devil…”

Pop Quiz:

When should you say “speak of the devil“?

A.  When the person you were talking about doesn’t appear.

B.  When the person you were talking about appears after an hour or so.

C.  When the person you were talking about appears right away.

To see the correct answer, click on “Continue reading”:

The correct answer is C.  The key is “right away” – you can’t say “speak of the devil” if it’s a long time before he or she appears. There’s no definite time limit but one hour is definitely too long!