The devil is in the detail

The devil is in the detail means in a larger project, it is usually the smaller things that cause problems.
Yep, beware of this little troublemaker.

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The devil is in the detail, means that in a larger project, it is usually the smaller things that cause problems.


That’s right; the devil is in the detail.

Think about it this way: you have written a document in English concerning a significant scientific discovery you have just made.

This discovery will be of great benefit to humankind.

Your essay is full of grammatical mistakes, and you cannot get it published.

Even though you have conducted years of research, made your discovery and written your document, you cannot get it published because of grammar mistakes: the devil is in the detail.

Or we could take this example.

Online privacy is the catchphrase of the day.

Under the European General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), any website visited by Europeans must inform them if their data will be used and enable them to opt into online tracking.

There must also be a link explaining how the site will use its data.

Most people just click OK and enter a website. Very few visitors, if any, click through and read the fine print, which contains all the details.

As we’ve already established above, the devil is in the detail.

When we click OK, we often have access to much more information than we thought we had.

The funny thing is that everyone will tell you to read the details, but it’s often a case of do as I say, not as I do.


This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).  

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 66.  

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.