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

See Examples For:

lesser of two evils

But he was outperformed citywide, leaving Palisades voters with a choice some liken to picking the lesser of two evils: Mayor Karen Bass or Councilmember Nithya Raman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025

She said she had felt that was "the lesser of two evils" and that she had been scared because she did not know what he could do.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2022

"It's the lesser of two evils," says Tallamy.

From Salon ● May 28, 2022

How can you choose the lesser of two evils, when both evils are too great to measure?

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman