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• Give the devil his due
  Give the devil his due

  Admit it when there is some good even in a person you dislike. This saying appears in Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes.
• give the devil his due
  give the devil his due

  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]

Give the devil his due

Cultural  

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

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give the devil his due Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

You’ve got to give the devil his due.

From Washington Post • Nov. 8, 2020

Both biographers, without concealing their dislike, try to give the devil his due.

From Time Magazine Archive

Devil's Due Sirs: I notice some folks don't like to "give the devil his due."

From Time Magazine Archive

To give the devil his due, he promptly set about reforming himself.

From Love Stories by Rinehart, Mary Roberts

It's only fair to give the devil his due, John—you've been shrewd.

From The Challenge of the North by Hendryx, James B. (James Beardsley)