Meanings
- There is sometimes no choice but to do some specific thing.
He needs must goe, the Devil drives.
1664, Charles Cotton, Scarronides; or, Virgile Travestie2 more examples
My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil drives.
1623, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends WellI doubt we can make it on foot, laden as we are. Dear me! I think we had better have a cab. An extravagance, of course, but needs must where the devil drives, eh?
1956, Gerald Durrell, “The Talking Flowers”, in My Family and Other Animals, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1959 (1974 printing), →OCLC, page 221Synonyms: needs must, necessity knows no law
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbThere is sometimes no choice but to do some specific thing.
Origin
Originally “needs must he go whom the devil drives”, where needs is an adverb with the sense “of necessity”.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish hätä ei lue lakia
- hätä ei lue lakiathere is sometimes no choice but to do something
French nécessité fait loi, à la guerre comme à la guerre
- nécessité fait loithere is sometimes no choice but to do something
- à la guerre comme à la guerrethere is sometimes no choice but to do something
German was sein muss, muss sein
- was sein muss, muss seinthere is sometimes no choice but to do something
Russian нужда научит калачи есть
- нужда научит калачи есть (nužda naučit kalači jestʹ)there is sometimes no choice but to do something
Spanish a la fuerza ahorcan
- a la fuerza ahorcanthere is sometimes no choice but to do something
Swedish nöden har ingen lag
- nöden har ingen lagthere is sometimes no choice but to do something
Ukrainian біда навчить коржі з маком їсти
- біда навчить коржі з маком їстиthere is sometimes no choice but to do something
Cite this entry
needs must when the devil drives. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needs%20must%20when%20the%20devil%20drives
“needs must when the devil drives.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needs%20must%20when%20the%20devil%20drives. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “needs must when the devil drives,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/needs%20must%20when%20the%20devil%20drives.
Source: needs must when the devil drives on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.