give the devil his due

give the devil his due
"отдавать должное и чёрту", т. е. отдавать должное врагу, плохому человеку и т. п. [шекспировское выражение; см. цитату]

Duke of Orleans: "Ill-will never said well." Constable: "I will cap that proverb with - There is flattery in friendship." Duke Of Orleans: "And I will take up that with - Give the devil his due." (W. Shakespeare, ‘King Henry V’, act III, sc. 6) — Герцог Орлеанский: "От недруга не жди доброго слова." Коннетабль: "Эту пословицу я покрою другой: дружба льстива"." Герцог Орлеанский: "А я прихлопну вашу третьей: "отдавай должное и черту."" (перевод Е. Бируковой)

Constance: "John has always been an excellent father. Let us give the devil his due." (W. S. Maugham, ‘The Constant Wife’, act 6) — Констанция: "Джон всегда был прекрасным отцом. В чем в чем, а в отсутствии внимания к детям его упрекнуть нельзя."

And Madame X, to give the devil her due, was not a user of money. She was a frugal sort of person. (J. Duncan, ‘My Friend Muriel’, part 6) — Следует и ведьме отдать должное: мадам X. не тратит много денег. Она человек экономный.


Большой англо-русский фразеологический словарь. - М.: «Русский язык-Медиа».. 2006.

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Смотреть что такое "give the devil his due" в других словарях:

  • give the devil his due — {v. phr.} To be fair, even to someone who is bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don t like him, * /I don t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a good teacher./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • give the devil his due — {v. phr.} To be fair, even to someone who is bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don t like him, * /I don t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a good teacher./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • give the devil his due — To acknowledge some commendable quality, etc in someone otherwise disapproved of • • • Main Entry: ↑due * * * proverb acknowledge the good qualities of even a bad or undeserving person …   Useful english dictionary

  • give the devil his due — ► give the devil his due proverb if someone or something bad has any redeeming features these should be acknowledged. Main Entry: ↑devil …   English terms dictionary

  • give the devil his due — Also in the phrase to give the Devil his due. 1589 LYLY Pap with Hatchet III. 407 Giue them their due though they were diuels..and excuse them for taking anie money at interest. 1596 NASHE Saffron Walden III. 36 Giue the diuell his due. 1642… …   Proverbs new dictionary

  • give\ the\ devil\ his\ due — v. phr. To be fair, even to someone who is bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don t like him, I don t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a good teacher …   Словарь американских идиом

  • give the devil his due — be fair (even to someone who is bad and who you dislike) I don t like to work with him at all as I think he is lazy. Still you have to give the devil his due because he always gets the job done …   Idioms and examples

  • give the devil his due — verb To acknowledge the positive qualities of a person who is unpleasant or disliked. . . . for he was never yet a breaker of …   Wiktionary

  • give the devil his due — idi to acknowledge the accomplishments of someone otherwise considered unworthy …   From formal English to slang

  • give the devil his due — acknowledge something good in a person regardless of their character …   English contemporary dictionary

  • give the devil his due —  Be just, even to an opponent or enemy …   A concise dictionary of English slang


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