Note 20 — PREMIER ÉPISODE

13 21 diable au vert: 'far away corners of the globe' The castle of Vauvert in the suburbs of Paris belonged to King Louis IX. Some Carthusian monks who desired to gain possession of it pretended that it was haunted by evil spirits, and it was abandoned to them, hence the expression diable Vauvert (Vauvert is a genitive, 'the demon of Vauvert'), which was later corrupted to diable au vert. The castle was far from the center of the city, perhaps it is for this reason that aller au diable vauvert, au diable au vert, means 'to go a long distance'. I have not seen an article on this locution which appeared in the Revue du Midi, 1911.--comment diantre: 'how the deuce', diantre is a euphemism for diable.