Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
give the devil his due en · VERB
Pronunciation
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, informal) To acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked.
And to give the devil his due he's finer than ever. Too damn fine for this crowd!
1922, Zane Grey, chapter 5, in The Day of the Beast:Yet give the devil his due; Says grace before he doth a deed of villainy.
1821, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 4, in Kenilworth:[…]for he was never yet a breaker of
proverbs: he will give the devil his due.
c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:We are obliged, at least this once, to give the devil his due — and to consider the possibility that he may even be, in this instance, the angel of bleak truthfulness.
2007 April 5, Richard Schickel, "The Fog of War Resistance" (film review), Time
Forms