What does the expression “as proud as Satan” (sin, or Lucifer) mean and Where does it come from?

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Karen Hill

This notion of evil being arrogant, supercilious, or contemptuous arose in the minds of people more than four hundred years ago.

The first record in English is in The Pilgrimage of Perfection (1526) with “as proude as Nabugodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar).”

Then came “as proud as Hell,” by Dean Swift in 1711. Then “as proud as Lucifer,” by Madame d’Arblay in 1782.

And we have since substituted Satan, sin, the devil, Beelzebub, the Prince of Darkness, Old Scratch, Old Harry, or whatever synonym of evil may occur to us.

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