Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

give the devil his due

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.25 in modern English

Syllables: give the dev-il his -due
IPA

33

Scrabble Score

18

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked.

Informal

Example Sentences

"[…]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."

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

gives the devil his due (present, singular) giving the devil his due (participle, present) gave the devil his due (past) given the devil his due (participle, past)

Questions

What does give the devil his due mean?: To acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked.

How to pronounce give the devil his due

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