"set a thief to catch a thief" meaning in All languages combined

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sets a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "setting a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "set a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "set a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "set<,,set> a thief to catch a thief"
      },
      "expansion": "set 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)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1866, Norman Macleod, editor, Good Words, page 415:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To employ an unscrupulous person in order to catch another unscrupulous person."
      ],
      "id": "en-set_a_thief_to_catch_a_thief-en-verb-0hBkjIU2",
      "links": [
        [
          "unscrupulous",
          "unscrupulous"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "fight fire with fire"
        },
        {
          "word": "honor among thieves"
        },
        {
          "word": "it takes one to know one"
        },
        {
          "word": "poacher turned gamekeeper"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "set a thief to catch a thief"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sets a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "setting a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "set a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "set a thief to catch a thief",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "set<,,set> a thief to catch a thief"
      },
      "expansion": "set 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)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "fight fire with fire"
    },
    {
      "word": "honor among thieves"
    },
    {
      "word": "it takes one to know one"
    },
    {
      "word": "poacher turned gamekeeper"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1866, Norman Macleod, editor, Good Words, page 415:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To employ an unscrupulous person in order to catch another unscrupulous person."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unscrupulous",
          "unscrupulous"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "set a thief to catch a thief"
}