Where did the term 'devil's advocate' come from

asks jayne b-t

A. Originally, a Devil's Advocate (from the Latin Advocatus Diaboli) was a Roman Catholic church official who had been appointed to argue the case against a proposed canonisation or beatification of a candidate for sainthood. (The supporter was, until 1983, called Advocatus Dei - 'God's Advocate'.) The Devil's Advocate's formal title is Promoter of the Faith (Promotor Fidei), which isn't quite as sinister.

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Q. How is it used outside the church
A. Properly used, it is someone who makes things seems worse that they actually are - but only for the sake of argument and not because he or she is cynical by nature.

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Q. Why would they do that
A. To liven up a dull and uninteresting conversation, perhaps, a Devil's Advocate might choose to disagree with everyone when they talk about something they all like.

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Q. If you say you can't see what all the fuss is about when everyone raves about Russell Crowe, for example
A. That's right. You may be a fan, but it makes things more entertaining when you have a proper debate about his looks/acting ability/affairs, rather than just agreeing that he's�gorgeous.

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Q. Can you play Devil's Advocate and say something is better than it really is
A. More and more these days, a Devil's Advocate is just someone who argues the opposite way, whether that means talking something up or down.

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By Sheena Miller