Know your English | How do we use the phrase ‘playing the devil’s advocate’? Premium

A column in The Hindu which helps you learn English grammar, usage and phrases

We have all argued with our friends and family members about many things — cricket, politics, movies, etc. For example, your friend may argue that Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman that India has produced. You too may believe that Sachin is the best, but to make things interesting, you might say, “I think Laxman is better. He won more games for India than Sachin did.” You deliberately choose to contradict your friend because you wish to make the discussion interesting. By providing a counterargument, you are provoking your friend into analysing the problem in depth. You are forcing him to make a case as to why Tendulkar is the best batsman ever. When you play devil’s advocate, what you are doing is putting forward an argument that most people are unlikely to support. This is something that we have all done some time or the other.

Usha’s father used to drive her crazy by playing devil’s advocate.

This term ‘devil’s advocate’ has been in existence for several centuries. It is a translation of the Latin ‘Advocatus Diaboli’ meaning ‘one who advocates the contrary side’. The expression was first used by the Roman Catholic Church. Whenever an individual performed miracles, people felt that there was something divine about the person; very often, the public demanded that the person be elevated to the status of a Saint. Whenever this happened, the Church appointed a devil’s advocate. This individual was usually a priest, and it was his job to argue why the performer of miracles should not be made a saint. He was to provide the counterargument.

This is a term that has been frequently used by native speakers of English; especially by those who work in the private sector. In the past, it was common for people to work for the same company all their life; they did not keep changing their jobs as often as people do today. Youngsters nowadays, do not wish to work for the same company for more than a year or two; they want to keep moving from one organisation to another. I guess we can attribute much of this due to job insecurity. It is common today, for a company, to lay off people — ‘downsizing’, as they call it now. Given the uncertainty that employees have, many of them have a backup plan in case they are fired — some keep a careful eye on the job market, and apply for positions in other companies, others take up part time jobs or do freelance work while they are still in service, while some start their own business. This is to ensure that they are not caught off guard and have something soft to land on when they get the boot.

Our company didn’t do well in the previous quarter. Some of the senior people have started doing some career cushioning.

I think our days here are numbered. We should seriously consider doing some career cushioning.

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