【常用口语】说曹操曹操到Speak of the devil

在中文里有句话叫“说曹操，曹操到”。据史料记载，汉献帝在与李傕、郭汜火拼时一度陷入困境，有人献计推荐曹操，不过信使还没出联军就已杀到，走投无路之际，夏侯惇奉曹操之命率军“保驾”成功。不过外国历史上可没有曹操，但他们有个类似的习语——Speak of the devil！

在这句习语里，speak of就是“说到”，devil则是指“魔鬼”。那么“说到魔鬼”怎么和“说曹操曹操到” 联系到一起呢？It is actually a shortening of the longer idiom, “speak of the devil, and he is sure to appear.” This idiom is an acknowledgment of a person who has arrived just as or after they were being discussed.这句习语其实还有后半句，完整版本是“如果你说到魔鬼，魔鬼就一定会现身”，只不过在日常使用中省略了后面的部分。所以我们用这句习语来表示正在被讨论的人刚好出现。

For example:

A: Hey everyone, sorry I'm late! 大家好，抱歉我迟到了。

B: Well, speak of the devil! We were just talking something funny that you were saying the other day. 说曹操曹操到，我们正说你前几天讲的那些搞笑的事呢。

This is the idiom that we learn today. Speak of the devil. 说曹操，曹操到。

That's all for today.