show the cloven foot
show the cloven foot verb: to reveal a devilish character or an evil purpose, despite attempts to disguise it.
Verb
show the cloven foot (third-person singular simple present shows the cloven foot, present participle showing the cloven foot, simple past showed the cloven foot, past participle shown the cloven foot)
- To reveal a devilish character or an evil purpose, despite attempts to disguise it.
- Well, I went over to the Squire's, pretty well satisfied in my own mind; so, after flattering and crowing about her a little while, I up and shew the cloven foot.1852, “The Marriage of Johnny Beedle”, in Traits of American humour, by native authors, ed. and adapted by the author of 'Sam Slick'., page 77
- Synonyms:
- show the cloven hoof
Synonyms of show the cloven foot
Forms of show the cloven foot
| third-person singular present | shows the cloven foot |
|---|---|
| present participle | showing the cloven foot |
| past | showed the cloven foot |
| past participle | shown the cloven foot |
Origin of show the cloven foot
Satan is depicted as having cloven feet.
Questions about show the cloven foot
- What does show the cloven foot mean?
- Show the cloven foot means to reveal a devilish character or an evil purpose, despite attempts to disguise it.
- What part of speech is show the cloven foot?
- Show the cloven foot is a verb.
- What is the past tense of show the cloven foot?
- The past tense of show the cloven foot is showed the cloven foot.
Words near show the cloven foot in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: show the cloven foot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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