cloven hoof
An evil or malicious nature. The devil is typically depicted with cloven hooves. I thought I could trust Eric until he showed the cloven hoof by spreading rumors about me. Jill definitely sabotaged my last two relationships. She might seem nice, but she always shows a cloven hoof eventually. Wow, I never expected my best friend to reveal a cloven hoof and start such an awful rumor about me!
show the cloven hoof
To reveal one's evil or malicious nature. The devil is typically depicted with cloven hooves. I thought I could trust Eric until he showed the cloven hoof by spreading rumors about me. Jill definitely sabotaged my last two relationships. She might seem nice, but she always shows the cloven hoof eventually.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a cloven hoof
a symbol or indication of evil. Traditional pictures of the Devil show him with the head and torso of a man but the legs and cloven hoofs of a goat. Therefore, a cloven hoof is a giveaway sign of the Devil.
1959 François Mauriac A Woman of Pharisees She had been a trial to him from the beginning, and now the cloven hoof was beginning to show.
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