make a virtue of necessity

Cultural  

1. To pretend that one is freely and happily doing something one has been forced to do: “Once the mayor was forced by the voters to cut his budget, he made a virtue of necessity and loudly denounced government spending.”

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make a virtue of necessity Idioms  

1. Do the best one can under given circumstances, as in Since he can't break the contract, Bill's making a virtue of necessity. This expression first appeared in English in Chaucer's The Knight's Tale: “Then is it wisdom, as it thinketh me, to make virtue of necessity.” Also see make the best of.

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Example Sentences

Why not make a virtue of necessity?

From Washington Post

Using the fear of U.S. unilateralism can also make a virtue of necessity: The sheer volume of shipping that carries 17.5 million barrels of oil a day out of the Persian Gulf means it would be difficult for the United States alone to protect all the ships that might need it.

From Washington Post

He should make a virtue of necessity and convey the following points: that the United States will maintain our small presence in Syria until the Islamic State is gone; that unless Iran’s continuing entrenchment in Syria is contained, it will trigger a wider war between Israel and the Iranians; and that we will back the Israelis completely, making it in Putin’s interest to stop the expansion of the Iranians and their proxies in Syria and prevent a major regional escalation.

From Washington Post

“We’re trying to make a virtue of necessity,” said Richard Kauffman, Governor Cuomo’s chairman of energy and finance.

From New York Times

Another is to make a virtue of necessity and build devices that take advantage of quantum oddities such as tunnelling, rather than trying to resist them.

From Economist