Meanings
- In adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected under other circumstances may become the best choice.
Synonyms: desperate times require desperate measures, drastic times call for drastic measures
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbIn adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected under other circumstances may become the best choice.
Origin
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
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic الضَّرُورَاتُ تُبِيحُ المَحْظُورَات
- الضَّرُورَاتُ تُبِيحُ المَحْظُورَات (aḍ-ḍarūrātu tubīḥu l-maḥẓūrāt)in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Chinese Mandarin 非常時期需要非常手段 /非常时期需要非常手段, 重症需下猛藥 /重症需下猛药
- 非常時期需要非常手段 /非常时期需要非常手段 (fēicháng shíqí xūyào fēicháng shǒuduàn)in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
- 重症需下猛藥 /重症需下猛药 (zhòngzhèng xū xià měng yào)in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Danish desperate tider kræver desperate handlinger
- desperate tider kræver desperate handlingerin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Dutch nood breekt wet, nood breekt wetten
- nood breekt wetin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
- nood breekt wettenin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Finnish hätä keinot keksii
- hätä keinot keksiiin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
French aux grands maux les grands remèdes
- aux grands maux les grands remèdesin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
German außergewöhnliche Umstände erfordern außergewöhnliche Maßnahmen, in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegen
- außergewöhnliche Umstände erfordern außergewöhnliche Maßnahmenin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
- in der Not frisst der Teufel Fliegenin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Hindi मरता क्या न करता
- मरता क्या न करता (martā kyā na kartā)in adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Hungarian szükség törvényt bont
- szükség törvényt bontin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Indonesian masa-masa sulit melahirkan keputusan-keputusan sulit
- masa-masa sulit melahirkan keputusan-keputusan sulitin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Italian a mali estremi, estremi rimedi
- a mali estremi, estremi rimediin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Latin extremis malis extrema remedia
- extremis malis extrema remediain adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Norwegian Bokmål desperate tider krever desperate tiltak
- desperate tider krever desperate tiltakin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Polish tonący brzytwy się chwyta
- tonący brzytwy się chwytain adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Spanish a grandes males, grandes remedios
- a grandes males, grandes remediosin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Swedish nöden har ingen lag
- nöden har ingen lagin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Tagalog ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim kumakapit
- ang taong nagigipit, sa patalim kumakapitin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Turkish denize düşen yılana sarılır
- denize düşen yılana sarılırin adverse circumstances, actions that might have been rejected may become the best choice
Cite this entry
desperate times call for desperate measures. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperate%20times%20call%20for%20desperate%20measures
“desperate times call for desperate measures.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperate%20times%20call%20for%20desperate%20measures. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desperate times call for desperate measures,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desperate%20times%20call%20for%20desperate%20measures.
Source: desperate times call for desperate measures on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.