ProverbChallenge
English origin1589
English origin1589Give the devil his due.
Meaning: Acknowledge even your adversary's legitimate accomplishments or valid points, regardless of personal feelings.
Origin: An early version appears in 1589, in the pamphlet Pappe with an Hatchet, usually credited to John Lyly. Shakespeare made it famous in Henry IV, Part 1, where Prince Hal jokes that Falstaff, never a breaker of proverbs, will keep his bargain with the devil: "he will give the devil his due." It means acknowledging the good points even of someone you dislike.
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