The benefit of the doubt

Meaning

"The benefit of the doubt" is an idiom that means to give someone the advantage or assume that they are innocent until proven guilty. It refers to a decision that favors or gives leniency to a person, even if there are doubts or uncertainties about their actions or motivations. Example: "I gave my colleague the benefit of the doubt when he missed the meeting, assuming that there must have been an emergency."

Usage

• The boss decided to give the new employee the benefit of the doubt during their probation period to allow them to learn and improve.
• When choosing between two candidates for a job, it is important to give both candidates the benefit of the doubt to ensure fairness in the hiring process.
• After a car accident, the police gave the benefit of the doubt to the driver who claimed that they were not responsible for causing the collision.
• The judge gave the defendant the benefit of the doubt on some charges due to lack of evidence.
• When deciding whether or not to forgive someone, it is important to give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to make amends for their mistakes.

Roots and History

The idiom "the benefit of the doubt" has been used in English since at least the 16th century. The earliest known use can be found in William Shakespeare's play, "Much Ado About Nothing," where the character Beatrice says, "A good man will give a bad reputation to his enemies." This suggests that people have always tended to believe the best of others and assume innocence until proven guilty. Over time, the usage of this idiom has remained relatively consistent, although there may be some regional variations. In some parts of the world, it is more common to say "the benefit of the doubt" while in others, it may be replaced with similar phrases such as "give them a break" or "let's assume the best."

Synonyms in English

• Give someone the advantage
• Assume innocence until proven guilty
• Give someone the benefit of the doubt
• Let someone off the hook
• Give someone a break

Synonyms in other languages

• En donar el beneficio de la duda (Spanish) - to give the advantage of doubt
• 疑義負義 (Japanese) - ambiguous/suspicious
• יוחד מצות עבר אזרת קהלה (Hebrew) - giving the benefit of the doubt
• נוכחם אחד מצות עבר הערך ספרים וספון עבר בתג מיזרקת (Hebrew) - giving the benefit of the doubt in a halakhic context
• לידן מנחש אחד מצות עבר האם אפשר מסכעה תכונות אחד מצות אכברים (Hebrew) - assuming innocence until proven guilty

Similar Idioms

• stand your ground

• the die is cast

• time puts everything in its place