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

The cynical take on this grand vision is that AT&T is trying to make a virtue of necessity.

From New York Times • Jan. 4, 2017

Struggling to fill the 2,000 seats in Orchestra Hall, its acoustically distinguished home downtown, it has tried to make a virtue of necessity, refocusing its energies on the communities where many of its patrons live.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2015

“Are you content” the bard once asked, “to make a virtue of necessity / And live, as we do, in this wilderness?”

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2010

Others admit that U.S. job prospects are cramped, but then go on to make a virtue of necessity.

From Time Magazine Archive

While economics and the flattening of the world have pushed Reuters down this path, Glocer has tried to make a virtue of necessity.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman