Make the best of a bad bargain.
Meaning: When stuck with an unfavorable deal, focus energy on maximizing what value remains rather than dwelling on the mistake.
Origin: John Ray's proverb collection of 1670 includes it, alongside variants such as "make the best of a bad market" that have since died out. A bargain once struck cannot be undone, so the sensible course is to get what good one can from it.
More proverbs about Morality
- Barley straw's good fodder when the cow gives water. — When resources are scarce, even poor substitutes become valuable for survival.
- Better to be beaten than be in bad company. — Physical hardship endures briefly; corrupting influences from vice seep into character pe…
- Brag's a good dog, but Holdfast is a better. — Boasting accomplishes nothing; actually keeping what you have through persistence and rel…
- Brag's a good dog, but that he hath lost his tail. — Boasting loses you the respect that makes bragging worthwhile in the first place.
- Brag's a good dog if he be well set on; but he dare not bite. — Empty boasting lacks substance—confidence unsupported by real ability cannot sustain itse…
- Business is the salt of life. — Commerce and productive work preserve society's vitality, preventing the staleness and de…