play the devil with
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English
[edit]Verb
[edit]play the devil with (third-person singular simple present plays the devil with, present participle playing the devil with, simple past and past participle played the devil with)
- (colloquial) To cause great trouble or distress to.
- Synonyms: play the cat and banjo with, play merry havoc with, play merry hell with, play Old Harry with, play the deuce with, play the dickens with, play the mischief with
- 1937, Rupert Penny, The Talkative Policeman, page 166:
- There's a silly young fool; but perhaps it's not entirely his fault. The last six months of the war played the devil with many an unformed character.