the lesser of two evils
/ðə ˌlesər əv ˌtuː ˈiːvlz/NEUTRAL · C1
Meaning
the less bad of two bad options
Examples
- 1Neither flat is great, but the one near the station is the lesser of two evils.
- 2Staying late or coming in on Saturday? Staying late seems the lesser of two evils.
- 3Both routes home were jammed, so we took the motorway as the lesser of two evils.
- 4A long wait at the airport seemed the lesser of two evils compared with missing our connection.
- 5Is paying the late fee really the lesser of two evils, or should we cancel the whole order?
Grammar
A noun phrase, usually after be, seem or choose. Keep the and plural evils.
More idioms about decisions
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →spoilt for choicehaving so many good options that it is hard to pickhave a change of heartto start to think or feel differently about a decisionerr on the side of cautionto choose the safer option to avoid any riskset in stonefixed and impossible to alterhedge your betsto avoid committing to one option so that you cannot losechop and changeto keep switching your plans or opinions
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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