Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

Do mal, o menos!

English translation:

The lesser of two evils!

Added to glossary by Douglas Bissell
Jan 19, 2019 14:42
5 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Portuguese term

Do mal, o menos!

Portuguese to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I understand the idea of this Portuguese proverb, but can't think of an English equivalent

Discussion

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 21, 2019:
the least of the worst Based on airmail's link, I'm amending my answer to 'the least of the worst'. See below. It's a very popular expression.
airmailrpl Jan 21, 2019:
Do mal o menor. Ronda del cims – Ramalhos ON TOUR
https://rontour.wordpress.com/tag/ronda-del-cims/ -
Video for "Do mal, o menor "▶ 14:14
Jul 12, 2015 - Uploaded by João Mota
Do mal o menor. Não queria ficar sem luz em Alta M

Proposed translations

+6
36 mins
Selected

The lesse of two evils!

According to Cambridge at https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pt/dicionario/ingles/lesser...

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Note added at 46 mins (2019-01-19 15:28:35 GMT)
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Corrigindo, "the lesser of two evils". Foi um typo meu.
Example sentence:

"Every day you choose the best you can find among imperfect options, “the lesser of two evils” as the saying goes."

"Is the ‘lesser of two evils’ an ethical choice for voters?"

Peer comment(s):

agree Liliana Arcanjo
0 min
Obrigado, Liliana!
agree Katarina Peters : ooops... I took too long to write it down and didn't see yours...
5 mins
Obrigado, Katarina!
agree Margarida Ataide
47 mins
Obrigado, Margarida!
agree Mario Freitas :
4 hrs
Obrigado, Mario!
agree Oliver Simões : Yes, the lesser of two evils
5 hrs
Obrigado, Simões!
agree Spiridon : Yes Lesser...
1 day 16 hrs
Muito obrigado!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Don't worry about the typo, I've corrected it for the glossary"
+1
40 mins

A lesser evil...

...comes to mind, as in "give me the lesser of two evils"
Peer comment(s):

agree Charles R. Castleberry : the ....
1 day 3 hrs
Thanks, Charles.
Something went wrong...
+2
44 mins

No harm done!

It was bad, but really, no harm done. It could have been worse.
Peer comment(s):

agree Verginia Ophof : on a positive note
30 mins
Obrigada, Verginia!
agree Margarida Ataide
38 mins
Obrigada, Margarida!
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2 hrs

"Not so bad" or "It could have been worse"

The expression basically means "of all the bad that could have happened, this was the least bad". "Not so bad" would be an informal way to translate it and "It could have been worse" a more formal way.
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3 hrs

The best of a bad bunch

Something went wrong...
+2
22 hrs

The lesser of two evils!

Douglas: Deve ser "Do mal, o menor! (e não menos). "Lesse" é nome de um rio. Deve ser "The lesser of two evils".
Peer comment(s):

agree airmailrpl
19 hrs
agree Tereza Rae
1 day 4 hrs
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

the least worst

Another option. Its's the title of a book and a film, which may be where the expression came from in Portuguese, although 'lesser of two evils' goes way back.

The Least Worst Place - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Least_Worst_Place
The Least Worst Place: How Guantanamo Became the World's Most Notorious Prison is a book about the first several months of the operation of the …

The Least Worst Man (2018) - IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5801704/
Directed by Orlando Javier Torres. With Sarah Arroyo, Georgina Borri, Felix Monclova, Delvis Ortiz. On the day of his best friend's wedding, Richard, a cynical ...

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Note added at 2 days 4 hrs (2019-01-21 19:25:10 GMT)
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Or maybe 'the least of the worst'
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