to be fair

This page is about the conversational phrase to be fair

Meaning

You can use this when saying something positive about something or someone you've been critical of.

For example

  • "He's terrible at science and maths, but, to be fair, he's not bad at English."

  • "Tony made many mistakes, although, to be fair, he always thought he was doing the right thing."

Quick Quiz

The coach said, "Tim can't play very well, but, to be fair,

a. he's also quite lazy."

b. I told him not to cheat."

c. he always tries hard."
a) he's also quite lazy." b) I told him not to cheat." c) he always tries hard."

Contributor: Matt Errey