the.com/daredevil
Someone who treats mortality as a suggestion, not a rule.
means A person who seeks out risky or dangerous stunts, often with a reckless disregard for caution.
from A straightforward 19th-century compound: 'dare' plus 'devil' — literally someone bold enough to dare the devil himself. The word shows up in English by the early 1800s, part of a long tradition of using 'devil' as an intensifier for recklessness (compare 'devil-may-care'). No hidden story here — it's as blunt and theatrical as the people it describes.
- origin
- literally means one who dares the devil
- psychology
- often has a blunted fear response, not a death wish
- economics
- stunt insurance costs more than the stunt itself
- irony
- most die in traffic, not the canyon jump