desperate times call for desperate measures en · X
Etymology
This phrase likely originates with a saying of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, which appears in his Aphorisms: "For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable."http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/aphorisms.1.i.html. A similar phrase occurs in Erasmus's Latin adage Malo nodo, malus quærendus cuneus (from his book Adagia (1500), which was first published in English in 1545).http://books.google.com/books?id=VX_Cf4e_66IC&pg=PA73&dq=erasmus+adagia+%22malo+nodo%22&hl=en&ei=nMAFTdu5LISglAfk89CzCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=erasmus%20adagia%20%22malo%20nodo%22&f=false Another similar Latin saying, "extremis malis extrema remedia," appears in print as early as 1596.http://books.google.com/books?id=fCVDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA9&dq=%22extremis+malis%22&hl=en&ei=wscFTeWqB8H_lgf2xJz_CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22extremis%20malis%22&f=false
Meanings
- In adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected under other circumstances may become the best choice.
Relateds
necessity knows no law · last resort · last-ditch · last gasp · in extremis
Synonyms
desperate times require desperate measures · drastic times call for drastic measures
Translations (22)
mk нужда закон менува (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · sv nöden har ingen lag (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · fr aux grands maux les grands remèdes (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · fi hätä keinot keksii (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · cmn 重症需下猛藥 /重症需下猛药 (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · da desperate tider kræver desperate handlinger (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · hi मरता क्या न करता (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · tr denize düşen yılana sarılır (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · nl nood breekt wetten (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · ar الضَّرُورَاتُ تُبِيحُ المَحْظُورَات (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · hu szükség törvényt bont (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · cmn 非常時期需要非常手段 /非常时期需要非常手段 (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · de außergewöhnliche Umstände erfordern außergewöhnliche Maßnahmen (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · nb desperate tider krever desperate tiltak (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · la extremis malis extrema remedia (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · it a mali estremi, estremi rimedi (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · es a grandes males, grandes remedios (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · pl tonący brzytwy się chwyta (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · nl nood breekt wet (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · tl ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim kumakapit (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · de in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice) · id masa-masa sulit melahirkan keputusan-keputusan sulit (in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice)