half a loaf is better than none
half a loaf is better than none
proverb Getting less than what one wants is better than getting nothing at all. I know they're offering you less money than you'd hoped for, but at least it's a good job—half a loaf is better than none.
See also: better, half, loaf, none
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
Half a loaf is better than none.
Prov. Getting only part of what you want is better than not getting anything. Fred: How did your court case go? Alan: Not good. I asked for $500, and the judge only awarded me $200. Fred: Half a loaf is better than none.
See also: better, half, loaf, none
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
half a loaf is better than none
Something is better than nothing, even if it is less than one wanted. For example, He had asked for a new trumpet but got a used one-oh well, half a loaf is better than none . This expression, often shortened, was already a proverb in 1546, where it was explicitly put: "For better is half a loaf than no bread."
See also: better, half, loaf, none
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
half a loaf is better than none
If you say that half a loaf is better than none, you mean that it is better to take what you can get, even if it is very little, than to risk having nothing at all. The reforms do not go as far as we wanted. Still, half a loaf is better than none. Note: Other words can be used instead of loaf and none. I'm very disappointed that there will only be one game, but half a loaf is better than no loaf, and we are happy that at least we will be playing once. Is half a step towards democracy better than no step at all?
See also: better, half, loaf, none
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
half a ˌloaf is better than ˈnone/no ˈbread
(saying) you should be grateful for something, even if it is not as good, much, etc. as you really wanted; something is better than nothing: They’re only going to agree to some of this, but half a loaf is better than none, I suppose.See also: better, bread, half, loaf, no, none
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
half a loaf is better than none
Something is better than nothing, even if it is not all you wanted. This expression was already a proverb in John Heywood’s 1546 collection. G. K. Chesterton repeated it in his essay, What’s Wrong with the World: “Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.”
See also: better, half, loaf, none
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- half a loaf is better than no bread
- half a loaf is better than no loaf
- half a loaf is better than none/no bread
- dream of a funeral and you hear of a marriage
- dream of a funeral and you hear of a wedding
- How are you getting on?
- time is getting on
- get (one's) hands dirty
- get your hands dirty
- like getting blood out of a stone