no rest for the wicked
Meanings
proverb
- Eternal torment in hell awaits sinners.
- People who are wicked must work harder than normal people.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From the Book of Isaiah verses 48:22 and 57:20-21, originally Hebrew. First attested in English in 1535, in Coverdale Bible of Miles Coverdale. Quoted in biblical sense for centuries, humorous secular sense popularized from 1930s, particularly due to use as title of popular Little Orphan Annie strip by Harold Gray in 1933. According to rabbinical tradition, the word “wicked” refers only to king Nebuchadnezzar II and his descendants.
Related words
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