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.
Jump To:
-
Give the devil his due
-
give the devil his due
give the devil his dueGive 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
give the devil his due
Idioms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Michigan Law's Yale Kamisar, a judicial liberal, said of Reagan: "Give the devil his due; it was a pretty good appointment."
From Time Magazine Archive
And I will take up that with "Give the devil his due."
From King Henry V by William Shakespeare
Give the devil his due, Dannie: I’ve fetched ye up very well.”
From The Cruise of the Shining Light by Norman Duncan
"Give the devil his due, Lady Carfax!" he drawled.
From The Knave of Diamonds by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell
Give the devil his due; that's my principle.
From The Chainbearer Or, The Littlepage Manuscripts by James Fenimore Cooper
You’ve got to give the devil his due.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 8, 2020
Devil's Due Sirs: I notice some folks don't like to "give the devil his due."
From Time Magazine Archive
Both biographers, without concealing their dislike, try to give the devil his due.
From Time Magazine Archive
However, it is an old saying that we must "give the devil his due," and the cloven foot did not appear at first.
From Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals In Two Volumes, Volume II by Samuel F. B. (Samuel Finley Breese) Morse
Moreover, Trask prided himself on his capacity for singing comic songs, which he accompanied himself, and, to give the devil his due, uncommonly well.
From A Veldt Vendetta by Bertram Mitford
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
