Both the devil and weapons are very present in the vast Spanish proverb. This is not surprising, since these anonymous phrases are passed from generation to generation with the purpose of transmitting a teaching or a moral message, popular wisdom. The devil and weapons embody all evil and that is why they appear in numerous proverbs, sayings and idioms. But there is only one expression that refers to both elements: The devil carries weapons.
"Weapons are loaded by the devil" is the original phrase. It is used to remind that any firearm is extremely dangerous and must always be handled with the utmost care. Never trust when picking up a pistol or shotgun, even when you think they are unloaded, since any accident can have fatal consequences. Unfortunately, history books and newspaper crime pages are full of people dying from a sudden and unintentional gunshot.
By extension, variants of the phrase are often used with the devil carrying any other dangerous thing: a vehicle, credit card, Twitter, algorithms, words... Everything that can end in misfortune is carried by the devil. If you want to warn that something can be harmful or harmful, you can use the original expression or change the subject, that is, the weapons for the object in question. "Be careful with the scooters, the devil carries them."
Although the exact origin of the phrase "arms are carried by the devil" is unknown, it is known that it became popular in the Army barracks, where the handling of firearms was taught when in Spain citizens had to comply with the compulsory military service.
Sometimes, the expression is completed with a pacifist tag line: "Guns are loaded by the devil and shot by idiots." Likewise, there is another saying with a similar meaning: "Firearms, the further away, the better."
The word devil is used in Spanish, in addition to referring to a rebellious angel, to indicate a person with a bad temper, mischievous or cunning. And, as we said at the beginning, the devil or demon could well fill a voluminous satanic proverb. Here are a few examples:
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