Give the Devil His Due

Give the Devil His Due

Shakespeare was the first to coin the phrase “give the devil his due” in the late 1500’s when writing King Henry IV. Throughout history a number of authors have also included this idiom in their great works of art. A second version of this phrase is “give the devil her due” when speaking of a woman.
According to thefreedictionary.com the definition for “give the devil his due” is to give your foe proper credit (for something). Wiktionary.org defines this idiom as to acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked. When I hear “give the devil his due” it makes me think of my grandmother. She would always say, “Give the devil his due, your pappaw sucks as a husband but is a wonderful grandfather.” Even though he had faults she gave him credit for what he deserved credit for.