the lesser evil

lesser evil

The less offensive of two undesirable options. Both options are unpalatable, but the lesser evil, in this case, is selling the house. Polls show that the candidate is not well-liked, but is viewed as the lesser evil.
See also: evil, lesser
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the lesser evil (or the lesser of two evils)

the less harmful or unpleasant of two bad choices or possibilities.
See also: evil, lesser
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • lesser evil
  • lesser of two evils
  • the lesser of two evils
  • be in a cleft stick
  • better the devil you know than the devil you don't
  • better the devil you know than the devil you don't know
  • better the devil you know than the one you don't know
  • in a cleft stick
  • better the devil you know
  • all (the) one
References in periodicals archive
I will discuss whether or not the PKK is the lesser evil and the role of Iran on Sunday.
ISIL, Assad, PKK and lesser evils
Yet both the practice and the theory of counseling the lesser evil have always been controversial, and as a result Benedict's comments have stoked widely varied reactions.
Pope revives idea of condoms as 'lesser evil'
In this context the document refers to the 'teaching of classical theologians' on tolerating the lesser evil.
Pope Shifts Stance on Condom Use
Surgery should not be undertaken lightly while drugs, the lesser evil, can have unpleasant side-effects.
SIZE OF PROBLEM IS FLAB-ERGASTING; VERDICT Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum says surgery should be the last resort
God may grant we chose the lesser evil. After the party, we went back to
Rose Bethe at Los Alamos
All have chosen exile as the lesser evil (or better option).
The Disinherited: The Exiles Who Created Spanish Culture
"Is tillage the lesser evil, or reduced pesticides the lesser evil?" Hepperly asks.
The scoop on dirt: why we should all worship the ground we walk on
THE LESSER EVIL: POLITICAL ETHICS IN AN AGE OF TERROR.
The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror
Among their topics are the obscenity of war and the imperative of the lesser evil, the Three Vows and contemporary thinking about Jewish holy war, violence in and through the text, holy terror, and Augustine.
The Just War and Jihad: Violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror, Michael Ignatieff (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), 160 pp., $22.95 cloth.
The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror
'05, p.37) states that in considering the question of the lesser evil, some distinctions must be made between homosexual intercourse and heterosexual intercourse and also between intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
Why some clergy question abstinence in the fight against HIV/AIDS
Regardless of the vote in a state convention or primary the Lesser Evil current set out to get as many of their supporters as possible to become delegates.
The crisis in the Green Party
Most of Israel's techniques--house demolitions, the security fence, targeted assassinations--have come under sustained international criticism, not as the lesser evil, but as the greater.
Lesser evils: facing terror in Israel and the United States
Expansion may seem like the lesser evil for some communities; for others the reverse will be true.
Letter: Why are more people flying these days?