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The idea of intense struggle,
contradiction, frustration, futility,
and paradox in a seemingly
favorable or safe environment.
To struggle like the devil in a holy water basin.
Resisting like mad
He raged like a devil in a holy water basin when the officers tried to take him back to the cell.
This phrase refers to someone vehemently resisting or struggling intensely, akin to a devil trying to escape from a holy water basin, implying a strong and fervent reaction.
Tekeer gaan als een duivel in een wijwatervat:
Hij ging tekeer als een duivel in een wijwatervat toen de agenten hem weer naar de cel wilden brengen.
Tekeer gaan als een duivel in een wijwatervat:
verwijst naar een renner die hemel en aarde beweegt om te kunnen ontsnappen.
“Struggling like a devil in a holy water basin” is an idiom or metaphor that conveys a sense of being in a difficult or challenging situation despite being in a supposedly safe or favorable environment. The key points or meanings of this phrase can include:
Intense struggle: The phrase “struggling like a devil” implies a strenuous, arduous, or desperate effort to overcome obstacles or difficulties. It suggests that the struggle is fierce, difficult, and persistent.
Contradiction or irony: The phrase “in a holy water basin” adds a contradictory or ironic element to the expression. Holy water is often associated with purity, sanctity, or protection, as it is used in religious rituals to bless or cleanse. However, the devil is often considered evil or malevolent, and the image of a devil struggling in a holy water basin suggests a clash or incongruity between opposing forces.
Frustration or futility: The phrase may also convey a sense of frustration or futility in the struggle, as the devil is typically depicted as a powerful and cunning being, but is unable to prevail in the holy water basin, which is supposed to be a safe place for him. It can indicate a feeling of being trapped, helpless, or unable to make progress despite putting in effort.
Paradox or paradoxical situation: The phrase can highlight a paradoxical or contradictory situation where one finds themselves in a seemingly favorable or advantageous position, but still faces significant challenges or difficulties. It can also point to a situation where one’s actions or efforts are self-defeating or counterproductive, leading to a struggle despite being in a supposedly advantageous position.
Overall, the key points of “struggling like a devil in a holy water basin” revolve around the idea of intense struggle, contradiction, frustration, futility, and paradox in a seemingly favorable or safe environment.
1 Rowan Atkinson: Toby the Devil – We Are Most Amused and Amazed
2 10 Lessons from Mr Bates v the Post Office. Glen Scrivener REACTS
2 Sub-postmistress/master group seek answers from PO Minister pt3
9 apr 2024
The meeting broadcast live in Warwickshire the day before the public inquiry in London resumes. Jon Kay hosts while Sally Nugent is in the BBC Breakfast Studio in Salford. (6AM-930AM, Monday 8-April-2024)
LIVE. Post Office would do ‘anything to hide Horizon failures’ – Alan Bates
The former sub-postmaster tells the Post Office inquiry he first raised concerns about problems with the software in 2000.
Why hundreds of Post Office workers were wrongly prosecuted
Secret papers show Post Office knew case was false
www. bbc. co. uk/ news
Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about
Published 30 minutes ago
www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ business-56718036
Post Office Inquiry
Post Office supporter outside of Royal Courts of Justice in 2021
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
New legislation will clear and compensate sub-postmasters who were the victims of what has been called the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice.
Hundreds were wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from Post Office branch accounts.
The next phase of a public inquiry into what went wrong is under way.
Summary
Alan Bates – who led the campaign to expose the Horizon IT scandal – tells the Post Office inquiry the institution has spent 23 years trying to silence him
The inquiry is shown a letter from Bates to a manager in which he says the Post Office would “do anything… to keep the failures of Horizon hidden”
Bates, in another letter, criticises Sir Ed Davey – a former minister – for saying the government had an “arms-length relationship” with the Post Office
He says this attitude allowed “a once great institution to be asset stripped by little more than thugs in suits”
The Lib Dem leader has since apologised for “not seeing through the Post Office lies”
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted due to the faulty Horizon system
You can watch coverage of the inquiry live at the top of this page by clicking the play button
www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ live/ uk-68767646
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3 Former Post Office boss says he didn’t know they were prosecuting hundreds of subpostmasters
12 apr 2024
Two former Post Office and Royal Mail bosses have told the Horizon inquiry they did not know the Post Office was prosecuting hundreds of subpostmasters itself.
The Inquiry also heard that former managing director Alan Cook had blamed “subbies with their hand in the till” for accounting discrepancies – a phrase he said he would regret for the rest of his life.
4 Post Office: Ex-boss who accused subpostmasters of having ‘their hand in the till’ under fire
12 apr 2024
A former Post Office boss has apologised after it was revealed that he blamed cash shortfalls on branch mangers “with their hands in the till”.
The comment was made in an email, read out in the inquiry into the post office horizon IT scandal which saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted.
Giving evidence Alan Cook said it was an expression he would “regret for the rest of my life”.
5 Fugitive Transforms Into Mannequin- Just For Laughs Gags
22 jan. 2013