play (the) devil's advocate
- play (the) devil's advocate
play (the) devil's advocate
Fig. to put forward arguments against or objections to a proposition—which one may actually agree with—purely to test the validity of the proposition. (The devil's advocate opposes the canonization of a saint in order to prove that the grounds for canonization are sound.) •
I agree with your plan. I'm just playing the devil's advocate so you'll know what the opposition will say.
•
Mary offered to play devil's advocate and argue against our case so that we would find out any flaws in it.
Dictionary of American idioms.
2013.
Look at other dictionaries:
The Devil's Advocate (film) — The Devil s Advocate Theatrical release poster Directed by Taylor Hackford Produced by … Wikipedia
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE — (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) n. one who argues for but doesn t necessarily agree with the unpopular side of an issue in order to illustrate all perspectives. Talk show hosts often play the devil s advocate for argument s sake. SYN.: pleader,… … English dictionary for students
Devil's advocate (disambiguation) — Devil s advocate, originally referred to a canon lawyer in the Roman Catholic Church appointed to argue against the canonization or beatification of a person. Devil s Advocate may also refer to: The Devil s Advocate, a novel by Andrew Neiderman… … Wikipedia
devil's advocate — noun someone who takes the worse side just for the sake of argument • Hypernyms: ↑debater, ↑arguer * * * noun, pl ⋯ cates [count] : a person who expresses an opinion that disagrees with others so that there will be an interesting discussion about … Useful english dictionary
The Devil Wears Prada (film) — Infobox Film name = The Devil Wears Prada caption = Promotional poster for The Devil Wears Prada director = David Frankel producer = Wendy Finerman writer = Lauren Weisberger (novel) Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay) starring = Meryl Streep Anne… … Wikipedia
Deals with the Devil in popular culture — The idea of making a deal with the Devil has appeared many times in works of popular culture. Contents 1 In print 2 In film 3 In music 4 In television … Wikipedia
devil's advocate — If someone plays Devil s advocate in an argument, they adopt a position they don t believe in just for the sake of the argument (Dorking School Dictionary) *** During a discussion or debate, if you play devil s advocate, you pretend to … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
play devil's advocate — to pretend to be against an idea or plan which a lot of people support in order to make people discuss it in more detail and think about it more carefully. I don t think he was really in favour of getting rid of the scheme, he was just playing… … New idioms dictionary
devil’s advocate (let me play) — Ponder or predict criticism of a project as a means to improve the quality of the proposal. ► “In addition to being an effective role model, the new strategic leader needs at least one good alter ego, devil’s advocate, or contrarian to avoid… … American business jargon
devil's advocate — N UNCOUNT: also with det If you play devil s advocate in a discussion or debate, you express an opinion which you may not agree with but which is very different to what other people have been saying, in order to make the argument more interesting … English dictionary
devil — noun 1 EVIL a) the Devil the most powerful evil spirit in Christianity; Satan b) (C) any evil spirit: The villagers believed a devil had taken control of his body. 2 PERSON (C) informal someone who behaves very badly, especially a child: Tommy s… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
