What is "printer's devil"

Printer \Print"er\, n. One who prints; especially, one who prints books, newspapers, engravings, etc., a compositor; a typesetter; a pressman.

Printer's devil, Printer's gauge. See under Devil, and Gauge.

Printer's ink. See Printing ink, below.

Devil \Dev"il\, n. [AS. de['o]fol, de['o]ful; akin to G. ?eufel, Goth. diaba['u]lus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. ? the devil, the slanderer, fr. ? to slander, calumniate, orig., to throw across; ? across + ? to throw, let fall, fall; cf. Skr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]

1. The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind.

   [Jesus] being forty days tempted of the devil.
   --Luke iv.

2. That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.
   --Rev. xii. 9.

   2. An evil spirit; a demon.

   A dumb man possessed with a devil.
   --Matt. ix. 32.

3. A very wicked person; hence, any great evil. ``That devil Glendower.'' ``The devil drunkenness.''
   --Shak.

   Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
   --John vi. 70.

4. An expletive of surprise, vexation, or emphasis, or, ironically, of negation. [Low]

   The devil a puritan that he is, . . . but a timepleaser.
   --Shak.

   The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder how the devil they got there.
   --Pope.

5. (Cookery) A dish, as a bone with the meat, broiled and excessively peppered; a grill with Cayenne pepper.

   Men and women busy in baking, broiling, roasting oysters, and preparing devils on the gridiron.
   --Sir W. Scott.

6. (Manuf.) A machine for tearing or cutting rags, cotton, etc. Blue devils. See under Blue. Cartesian devil. See under Cartesian. Devil bird (Zo["o]l.), one of two or more South African drongo shrikes ( Edolius retifer, and Edolius remifer), believed by the natives to be connected with sorcery. Devil may care, reckless, defiant of authority; -- used adjectively. --Longfellow. Devil's apron (Bot.), the large kelp ( Laminaria saccharina, and Laminaria longicruris) of the Atlantic ocean, having a blackish, leathery expansion, shaped somewhat like an apron. Devil's coachhorse. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The black rove beetle ( Ocypus olens). [Eng.]

   2. A large, predacious, hemipterous insect ( Prionotus cristatus); the wheel bug. [U.S.]

      Devil's darning-needle. (Zo["o]l.) See under Darn, v. t.

      Devil's fingers, Devil's hand (Zo["o]l.), the common British starfish ( Asterias rubens); -- also applied to a sponge with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.]

      Devil's riding-horse (Zo["o]l.), the American mantis ( Mantis Carolina).

      The Devil's tattoo, a drumming with the fingers or feet. ``Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels.''
      --F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.).

      Devil worship, worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power.

      Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as washing the ink rollers and sweeping), etc. ``Without fearing the printer's devil or the sheriff's officer.''
      --Macaulay.

      Tasmanian devil (Zo["o]l.), a very savage carnivorous marsupial of Tasmania ( Dasyurus ursinus syn. Diabolus ursinus).

      To play devil with, to molest extremely; to ruin. [Low]

n. (context dated English) An apprentice printer

n. an apprentice in a printing establishment

"Printer's Devil" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The title comes from the expression printer's devil, an apprentice in the industry.

The initial plot set-up is based in part on the well-known deal with the devil motif. This hour-long episode was written by Charles Beaumont, and based on his 1951 short story "The Devil, You Say".