pay a compliment

Idioms  

1. Express praise or commendation to someone, as in Meredith wanted to pay Christopher a compliment so she told him she liked his new haircut. This expression uses pay in the sense of “give something that is due.” [c. 1700]

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Example Sentences

I considered interrupting her routine to pay a compliment.

From Slate • Jun. 27, 2020

In one segment of the show, Fallon brought in admirers from the street to pay a compliment to a portrait of the First Lady.

From Time • Jan. 12, 2017

Victory for Azmeel would pay a compliment to another Derby possible, Godolphin's Chabal, who had John Gosden's colt comfortably held when they finished first and second at Sandown last month.

From The Guardian • May 6, 2010

I wish to pay a compliment to the reporters of the various newspapers who do present the facts in the same news column, correctly.

From Time Magazine Archive

“You mathematician! I wish you could at least pay a compliment without arithmetic! Eight from nineteen is eleven. Twice as pretty every year...Goodness, I’m twenty-two times as pretty!”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham