The devil is beating his wife

Back home in southern WV when it rained while the sun was shining, people said, "The devil is beating his wife!"

It did that today, rain and sunshine, so I googled the phase. Here's the result.

(I copied the stuff below before I started typing. That's why my font is so large and I can only do caps!!!)

 

 

the devil is beating his wife

the devil is beating his wife
also known as sunshower or sun shower

Meaning | Synonyms

• raining whereas the sun is shining
• when the sun is shining yet it's raining
• when raining but the sun is shining at the same time

Example Sentences

1. Today, the devil is beating his wife in our city - it's raining cats and dog and sun is also shining.
2. Yesterday, I saw a very rare event which is called - the devil is beating his wife.
3. In people Southern United States of America usually comes across a weird natural phenomenon known as the devil is beating his wife.
4. Everybody laughed, when a kid asked her mom, "Mamma, I want to see how the devil is beating his wife".

Origin

Several cultures now ascribed this phenomenon to folkloric tales featuring clever animals or tricksters being related or getting married to the devil. For instance, in the Southern United States and Hungary, when they experience a sun shower, they say "the devil is beating his wife with a walking stick", while the French would say "the devil is beating his wife and marrying his daughter."

The illustration of the idiomatic phrase can be explained as that of the devil spitting the fire of hell (the sun rays) and his wife's tears (the rain).

Source: theidioms.com