POSITIVE IDIOMS WITH SUPPOSEDLY NEGATIVE STRUCTURES

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

POSITIVE IDIOMS WITH SUPPOSEDLY NEGATIVE STRUCTURES

1. Be a devil: This expression is said when encouraging someone to do something that they are hesitating to do:
   You must dare to get to the top; so be a devil and set out.
2. Break a leg: This is used for wishing someone good luck, especially before a performance:
   I know you can do this; go ahead and break a leg!
3. Better the devil you know (than the devil you don’t know): This idiom is used to say it is wiser to deal with an undesirable but familiar situation than to risk a change that might lead to an even worse situation. Note that the part in parenthesis (bracket) is an optional part of the idiom. Also, the idiom is not ~the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know~:
   It is clear to her now that her boss is strict, but better the devil she knows than the devil she does not know.
   GAB