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I'm pretty sure it has a theological origin - it really means "of the devil". You can see these ideas clearly laid out in Milton's Paradise Lost, for example. God has permitted Free Will, because obedience and worship of God are only meaningful if we have the option not to obey or worship. But the exercise of Free Will led to the fall of the rebel angels, who have now become diabolical. But through continued use the phrase has lost most of its intensity, so "diabolical" becomes a mere adjective meaning "outrageous" or "offensive".
Also, the "liberty" part - "taking liberties" meaning behaving with inappropriate informality, in a presumptuous way. So a "liberty" would be an incursion on someone's privacy or dignity.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted diabolical liberty gaius novus 07/03/08 09:38 PM Re: diabolical liberty tsuwm 07/03/08 09:49 PM Re: diabolical liberty morphememedley 07/04/08 02:52 AM Re: diabolical liberty BranShea 07/04/08 11:14 AM Re: diabolical liberty The Pook 07/04/08 02:22 PM Re: diabolical liberty dalehileman 07/04/08 03:08 PM Re: diabolical liberty twosleepy 07/04/08 04:07 PM Re: diabolical liberty dalehileman 07/04/08 05:13 PM Re: diabolical liberty The Pook 07/05/08 02:53 AM Re: diabolical liberty The Pook 07/05/08 02:59 AM Re: diabolical liberty Pted 09/01/13 10:57 PM Re: diabolical liberty LukeJavan8 09/02/13 04:01 PM Re: diabolical liberty NRan 10/03/13 04:09 PM Re: diabolical liberties BranShea 10/04/13 09:20 PM
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