- Meaning
- This idiom, crude and provocative, describes willingly or greedily engaging in corrupt, immoral, or depraved behavior for personal gain or pleasure, as if nursing from the devil’s breast in a perverse pact. It conveys deep moral compromise or depravity, often used in moral, criminal, or subcultural contexts to condemn actions driven by greed or vice with shocking imagery. The phrase carries a tone of disgust, dark humor, or righteous fury, reflecting cultural horror at moral decay and the human temptation to embrace evil for reward. It resonates in scenarios of corruption or hedonism, capturing the grotesque allure of sin, and its demonic imagery adds a layer of infernal taboo, evoking a satanic bargain. The idiom is deliberately offensive, making it a controversial metaphor for the depths of moral betrayal or vice.
- Origin
- The phrase likely emerged in 17th-century Britain, inspired by Puritan witch-hunt hysteria where ‘sucking the devil’s teat’ was a literal accusation against witches, as noted in trial records. Its metaphorical use for corruption appeared in a 1692 *The London Post* tract, condemning a traitor ‘sucking the devil’s teat’ for gold. The idiom gained traction in the 18th century, reflecting moral panics, as seen in Daniel Defoe’s *Moll Flanders* (1722), which explores vice. Its use grew in 19th-century British and American literature, particularly in Gothic and moral tales, with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s *The Scarlet Letter* (1850) evoking sinful pacts. The phrase’s adoption was amplified in 20th-century subcultures, notably in *The New York Times* crime reports. Its spread to Commonwealth English came through British influence, and its crude imagery and applicability to depravity ensured its enduring use in English-speaking underworlds, from pulp fiction to moral rants.
- Variants
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- Sucking the Devil’s Teat
- Suck the Devil’s Teat
- Nursing the Devil’s Teat
- At the Devil’s Teat
- Examples
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- He’s sucking the devil’s teat, taking bribes to rig the contract.
- Suck the devil’s teat, and you’ll sell your soul for that deal.
- Nursing the devil’s teat, she profited from the illegal scheme.
- At the devil’s teat, they indulged in the corrupt firm’s perks.
- Sucking the devil’s teat, he betrayed his ethics for fame.
- Nurse the devil’s teat, and you’ll sink into their vice.
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