lesser of two evils

Idioms  

1. The somewhat less unpleasant of two poor choices. For example, I'd rather stay home and miss the picnic altogether than run into those nasty people—it's the lesser of two evils. This expression was already a proverb in ancient Greek and appeared in English by the late 1300s. Chaucer used it in Troilus and Cressida.

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Example Sentences

"It comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils."

From Barron's

"I don't know if I'd say the lesser of two evils, but I think Chile needs a change," Claudio Sanjuez said, "and I clearly think Kast could be that alternative".

From BBC

But then neither is Kate; she has a good enough moral sense to pass as a hero, but the exquisite tension of “The Diplomat” is almost always between the lesser of two evils.

From Los Angeles Times

“One must choose the lesser of two evils. Who is the lesser of two evils? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know,” Pope Francis said.

From Salon

“Lesser of two evils at this point, you know?” said Mr. Kohler, 47.

From New York Times