Definition
To acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked.
In Context
- "[…]for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs: he will give the devil his due."
- "Yet give the devil his due; Says grace before he doth a deed of villainy."
- "And to give the devil his due he's finer than ever. Too damn fine for this crowd!"
- "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."