set a thief to catch a thief
- set a thief to catch a thief
Cf. CALLIMACHUS Epigram xliii. φωρὸς δ᾽ ἴχνια φὼρ ἔμαθον, being a thief myself I recognized the tracks of a thief.
1654 E. GAYTON Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixote IV. ii. As they say, set a fool to catch a fool; a Proverb not of that gravity (as the Spaniards are), but very usefull and proper.
1665 R. HOWARD Four New Plays 74 According to the old saying, Set a Thief to catch a Thief.
1812 M. EDGEWORTH Tales of Fashionable Life VI. 446 ‘You have all your life been evading the laws... Do you think this has qualified you peculiarly for being a guardian of the laws?’ Sir Terence replied, ‘Yes, sure, set a thief to catch a thief is no bad maxim.’
2002 Washington Times 13 Jan. A9 A pickpocket specialist with the Washington Metro Transit Police Department says it may take a thief to catch a thief, but cops who are trained to think like crooks can do just as well.
Proverbs new dictionary.
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set a thief to catch a thief — The best person to catch a criminal is another criminal as they understand how criminals work … The small dictionary of idiomes
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