DROMIO OF SYRACUSE: Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Comedy of Errors, Act 4, sc. 3, l. 65ff (4.3.65-66) (1594)
(Source)
The phrase was popularized by Shakespeare, but had appeared earlier, e.g., Chaucer, "The Squire's Tale," ll. 602-603, Canterbury Tales (c. 1386):
"Therfor bihoveth him a ful long spoon
That shal ete with a feend," thus herde I seye.
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