english
1
general::
Phrase(s): The devil is not so black as he is painted. Prov. No one is as bad as people say he is. (Implies that people are saying too many bad things about someone.) • I can’t believe that actress is as coldhearted as the gossip columns say she is. The devil is not so black as he is painted.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs