I first heard this odd way of describing the weather from my husband. It was a beautiful sunny day. Randomly, out of nowhere it began to rain while the sun was still bright and visible. I took a few pictures then went inside to show my husband. As he saw them, he said, "Well, I guess the Devil is beating his wife today." I looked at him like he was crazy and asked what he meant. He told me that was an old saying to describe a sunny day where it rains.
That Beautiful Sunny Day When It Rained (Look A Double Rainbow!)
So What Does This Phrase Mean?
The saying "The Devil Is Beating His Wife" is most popular in the southern United States but is used in other parts of the world. Basically, the meaning behind it is the idea that God creates beauty and gives people sunshine and days full of light. The Devil hates beauty and tries to ruin it. He gets so angry that he is temperamental and takes out his aggression on his poor wife. When the Devil beats his wife she cries. On sunny days when it rains, the Devil's wife is crying because of his cruelty to her.
A Very Old Way Of Describing The Weather
The earliest use of this phrase was in multiple publications published in 1738. source
"In one publication by Jonathan Swift, he said, "The devil was beating his wife behind the door with a shoulder of mutton" to refer to sunny days with rain." Quote from source
Over time there have been different variations of this phrase but all mean the same thing...they are a way of describing out of the norm weather. These days the phrase seems to be mostly used in the southeastern United States. When my husband used the phrase I figured it had to be popular in the south where he's from.
According to my research, cultures all over the world may have variations on this phrase. Some use different characters in the phrase: witches, animals, people, fairies, etc.
The Proper Term: A Sunshower
Scientists have a word to describe sunny days when it rains: sunshower.
"A sunshower or sun shower is a meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining. A sunshower is usually the result of accompanying winds associated with a rain storm sometimes miles away, blowing the airborne raindrops into an area where there are no clouds. Hence, a sunshower. Sometimes a sunshower is created when a single rain cloud passes overhead, and the Sun's angle keeps the sunlight from being obstructed by overhead clouds." Quote wikipedia
So I witnessed a beautiful sunshower that resulted in a lovely double rainbow. We had a sky filled with sun, then a gray rain cloud started to fly overhead. This rain cloud was pretty big, but not big enough that the entire sky looked gray in all directions. I luckily got pictures of each stage as the rain cloud arrived to drop a quick rain as it passed overhead. Shortly after the sun was back to lighting up the world and created a lovely double rainbow.
The Beginning and End Of My Own Sunshower
A Rain Cloud Arrives And Temporarily Blocks The Sun
The Cloud Moves To Let The Sun Start Shining and Creates A Rainbow While It's Still Raining
A Double Rainbow Forms
The End of The Closest Rainbow Is In My Yard!!!!
The End of The Rainbow Is In My Raised Garden Beds!
I've never see a rainbow so close and I've never seen the end of a rainbow. It was the coolest weather I'd ever seen. I thought about going digging for Leprechaun gold in the garden but I'm pretty sure if I dug up my husband's newly planted corn he wouldn't be too happy. Instead I decided to take the rainbow as a sign we'd have a successful harvest of vegetables in our garden this year.
