Give the devil his due

1. Admit it when there is some good even in a person you dislike. This saying appears in Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes.

Idioms and Phrases

Give credit to what is good in a disagreeable or disliked person. For example, I don't like John's views on education, but give the devil his due, he always has something important to say, or I don't like what the new management has done, but give the devil his due, sales have improved. [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

You’ve got to give the devil his due.

From Washington Post

Writing in a 2007 cable released by WikiLeaks, then-U.S. ambassador to Harare Christopher Dell reflected the views of many: “To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician.”

From Reuters

Pope Francis has called for a rewriting of the Lord's Prayer, saying the current translation gives God a bad name and, essentially, does not give the devil his due.

From Los Angeles Times

Everyone has made sport of this line, but give the devil his due: In certain ways sexual predation actually was the culture in the years when Weinstein came of age, in the entertainment industry and the wider society it influenced and mirrored.

From New York Times

So let’s give the devil his due.

From Time