sell one's soul

English

Etymology

From the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gains.

Pronunciation

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Verb

sell one's soul (third-person singular simple present sells one's soul, present participle selling one's soul, simple past and past participle sold one's soul)

1. (idiomatic) To abandon one's spiritual values or moral principles for wealth or other benefits.

   Synonyms: sell one's soul to the devil, sell one's soul to the Devil

   • 1877, Charles Reade, chapter 3, in A Woman-Hater‎:

     He murmured in her ear. “You are Marguerite, for you could fire a man's heart so that he would sell his soul to gain you.”

   • 1910, John Buchan, chapter 3, in Prester John, London, Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, →OCLC:

     So I resolved to acquire a dog, and bought one from a prospector, who was stony-broke and would have sold his soul for a drink.

   • 2005 June 29, Desa Philadelphia, “Crunk: Hip-Hop's Got a New Accent”, in Time‎, archived from the original on 2012-09-05:

     After all, the South is where jazz and blues were invented. Where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil so he could play the licks that would become rock 'n' roll.

   • 2024 April 2, Sarfraz Manzoor, quoting Suzi Ronson, “‘Bowie said he’d sell his soul to be famous’: Suzi Ronson on sex, ruthless ambition – and dyeing David’s hair red”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     “David used to say he would sell his soul to be famous,” she says. “But he was also otherworldly – and you couldn’t take your eyes off him.”

Translations

See also

• Faustian bargain
• sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage
• sell one's own grandmother