better the devil you know than the devil you don't

better the devil you know than the devil you don't

proverb When faced with two options, it is better to choose the more familiar one, even if it is undesirable. A: "Why don't you just quit your job if you're so miserable?" B: "Who knows if a new job will be any better! Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
See also: better, devil, know
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • better bend than break
  • desperate times call for desperate measures
  • desperate times require desperate measures
  • drastic
  • drastic times call for drastic measures
  • drastic times require drastic measures
  • require
  • teach a man to fish
  • village
  • it takes a village
References in periodicals archive
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
Joe didn't want to disclose which way he'll be voting, although his hint could hardly have been more explicit: "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know," he said.
It's often expressed in Britain with the old saw, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know."
Words I was greeted with a while ago, and ones which evince the reply: "I am fine, thank you, but please excuse the fact that I have now exchanged my forked tail for a clerical collar, as I have stopped being the Devil to take up God's work!" That greeting made me think of the proverb, "Better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't."
It's not just a case of blood being thicker than water, or even of 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't.' It's often about Wanting to get the preferred successor(s) involved so they can begin to get a handle on the business, the desire to help out a family member who can't get employment elsewhere, or to avoid a family argument.
"We don't know where we are going and I think it's a case of better the devil you know than the devil you don't."
In closing, may I say that I love my country and for me it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.