set a thief to catch a thief

verb

To employ an unscrupulous person in order to catch another unscrupulous person.

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Meanings

verbset a thief to catch a thief (third-person singular simple present sets a thief to catch a thief, present participle setting a thief to catch a thief, simple past and past participle set a thief to catch a thief)

present singular third person sets a thief to catch a thief · participle present setting a thief to catch a thief

  1. To employ an unscrupulous person in order to catch another unscrupulous person.

    The morality of setting a thief to catch a thief passes muster in the English force; but they do these things better in America. Pinkerton's system for the detective police in America is vastly superior to the British system.

    1866, Norman Macleod, editor, Good Words, page 415
Cite this entry
APA

set a thief to catch a thief. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20a%20thief%20to%20catch%20a%20thief

MLA

“set a thief to catch a thief.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20a%20thief%20to%20catch%20a%20thief. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “set a thief to catch a thief,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20a%20thief%20to%20catch%20a%20thief.

Source: set a thief to catch a thief on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.