Of two evils choose the lesser.
Meaning: When facing unavoidable harm, select the option causing minimum damage rather than suffering the worst possible outcome.
Origin: Aristotle advises choosing the lesser of two evils in the Nicomachean Ethics, and Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde says that of two harms, the lesser is to be chosen. Thomas à Kempis gives the same rule in The Imitation of Christ.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: De deux maux il faut choisir le moindre (literally: Of two evils choose the least)
- Spanish: Del mal, el menos. (literally: Of the bad, the least.)
- Japanese: 小の虫を殺して大の虫を助ける (Shō no mushi o koroshite dai no mushi o tasukeru) (literally: Kill the small insect to save the large one)
- German: Von zwei Übeln wählt man das kleinere (literally: Of two evils one chooses the smaller)
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From our idioms
- arroz con mango — a chaotic, confused mess or pandemonium.
- pico de oro — someone with exceptional eloquence or persuasive speech.
- no decir ni pío — to remain completely silent or say nothing at all.