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>the Devil knows more from being old than from being the Devil. brilliant. what's the origin there?
by mr_spothawk 10y ago
>the Devil knows more from being old than from being the Devil.
brilliant. what's the origin there?
- themoat 10y agoIt's a pretty old spanish proverb. I couldn't find where it came from, but for reference, I lived in Peru and heard some older guys say it. Then in college, I worked in a warehouse in the southern united states and older Mexican guys would say it to make sure the young workers respected them. So, I wonder if it's just a universal Spanish proverb?
- JorgeGT 10y ago> So, I wonder if it's just a universal Spanish proverb? Probably! The older exact match I could find in Google Books is from 1846, in a Yucatán periodical: https://books.google.es/books?id=VNgtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8&dq=%22por+viejo+que+por+diablo%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22por%20viejo%20que%20por%20diablo%22&f=false https://books.google.es/books?id=VNgtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8&dq=%22p...
- themoat 10y agoThat's really neat
- JorgeGT 10y agoIt's a very old Spanish proverb, so presumably only the Devil knows the origin ;)
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- kcorbitt 10y agoDon't know what country the OP is from, but my guess is the phrase he's referring to is the Spanish "Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo" (which translates to what he wrote above). It's a common saying in Spain at least, and presumably in Latin America as well.