When the devil finds the door shut, he goes away.
When the devil finds the door shut, he goes away.
Meaning in plain English
A closed door denies entry to the figure of temptation. The saying makes a firm boundary part of refusal, without proving that unwanted pressure always disappears once someone says no.
Example
A person leaves a distracting group notification channel during focused work rather than trying to resist every new alert.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The devil is imagined finding no opening and leaving. As a metaphor, a boundary can prevent a temptation from becoming an accepted part of an arrangement. Closing the door may mean declining an invitation, ending access or changing a habit’s immediate surroundings. The image is not evidence about supernatural events. Nor does it guarantee that pressure stops after refusal. A boundary may need practical support and repeated enforcement; difficulty maintaining it does not make the person responsible for another’s persistence.
When to use it
Use it to think about an effective boundary around an unwanted invitation or habit.
Keep in mind
Refusal may need support; the metaphor does not guarantee safety or explain supernatural events.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 200; Spanish section, paragraph 4175; source wording: A puerta cerrada, el diablo se vuelve.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗