give the devil

One of the first letters I found, she says, “Don’t ever give the devil a ride because he will end up doing the driving.”

If you give the devil a ride, sooner or later he’s going to want to drive.

You’ve got to give the devil his due.

Quoting from “A Man For All Seasons,” he spoke of the need to “give the devil the benefit of the law.”

Writing in a 2007 cable released by WikiLeaks, then-U.S. ambassador to Harare Christopher Dell reflected the views of many: “To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician.”