Play devils advocate

Play Devil's advocate

Meaning

A person who takes a contrary position from the one being presented, either for the sake of argument or to test the validity of the opposing point of view.

Examples

I didn’t really disagree with what he was saying but I decided to play devil’s advocate just to get him to try to make a better case for it.

Where did it originate?

Britain, 18th century.

Where is it used?

Worldwide.

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About the Author

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Play devils advocate