make a virtue of necessity
- make a virtue of necessity
- Meaning
Origin
From Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Second Outlaw Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:
Are you content to be our general?
To make a virtue of necessity
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?
Meaning and origin of phrases.
2013.
Look at other dictionaries:
make a virtue of necessity — To do as if from a sense of duty (or with a sense of duty called in for the occasion) something unpleasant one is forced to do • • • Main Entry: ↑virtue * * * make a virtue of necessity phrase to pretend that you are doing something because you… … Useful english dictionary
make a virtue of necessity — {v. phr.} Make the best of things as they are; do cheerfully what you do. * /After Mr. Wilson lost all his money, he made a virtue of necessity and found a new and interesting life as a teacher./ Compare: MAKE THE BEST OF … Dictionary of American idioms
make a virtue of necessity — {v. phr.} Make the best of things as they are; do cheerfully what you do. * /After Mr. Wilson lost all his money, he made a virtue of necessity and found a new and interesting life as a teacher./ Compare: MAKE THE BEST OF … Dictionary of American idioms
make a virtue of necessity — If someone does something commendable, not deliberately but because they have no choice, and pretends to be doing it willingly and happily, they make a virtue of necessity. When, because of the high price of petrol, I decided to walk to… … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
make a virtue of necessity — formal to change something you must do into a positive or useful experience. It s a long way to drive so I thought I d make a virtue of necessity and stop off at some interesting places along the way … New idioms dictionary
make\ a\ virtue\ of\ necessity — v. phr. Make the best of things as they are; do cheerfully what you do. After Mr. Wilson lost all his money, he made a virtue of necessity and found a new and interesting life as a teacher. Compare: make the best of … Словарь американских идиом
make a virtue of necessity — make a duty into something attractive, make responsibility appear desirable … English contemporary dictionary
make a virtue of necessity — verb To make the best of a difficult situation; to recast or portray an action or situation in which one has no alternatives as an action or situation which was deliberately chosen on its merits. Indeed, because you are a banishd man … Wiktionary
make a virtue of necessity — idi to make the best of a difficult or unsatisfactory situation … From formal English to slang
make a virtue of necessity — to pretend that you are doing something because you have chosen to do it and because it will bring you benefits, when in fact it is something that you must do … English dictionary