beggars can't be choosers

beggars can't be choosers

You must accept that which is given to you, especially if you don't have the means to acquire it yourself. That dress wasn't exactly what I would have picked for myself, but, hey, it was free, and I'm broke right now. Beggars can't be choosers.

See also: beggar

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Prov. If someone gives you something you asked for, you should not complain about what you get. I asked Joe to lend me his bicycle, and he sent me this old, rusty one. But beggars can't be choosers. Jill: Let me wear your green dress; I don't like the blue one you lent me. Jane: Beggars can't be choosers.

See also: Beggar

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

beggars can't be choosers

Those in dire need must be content with what they get. For example, The cheapest model will have to do-beggars can't be choosers. This expression was familiar enough to be included in John Heywood's 1546 collection of proverbs.

See also: beggar

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beggars can't be choosers

You say beggars can't be choosers to mean that you should not reject an option if it is the only one which is available to you. Initially I'd take any job that was offered me — beggars can't be choosers. There are some apartments available, and beggars can't be choosers, but they're not very nice.

See also: beggar

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

beggars can't be choosers

people with no other options must be content with what is offered. proverb

See also: beggar

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

ˌbeggars can’t be ˈchoosers

(saying) when there is no choice, you have to be satisfied with whatever you can get: I would have preferred a bed, but beggars can’t be choosers so I slept on the sofa in the living room.

See also: beggar

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

beggars can't be choosers

Those in need must take whatever they can get. A proverb in John Heywood’s 1546 collection, this expression has been repeated ever since, with very little variation. A minor exception was Thomas Fuller’s version (Gnomologia, 1732), “Beggars and Borrowers must be no Chusers.”

See also: beggar

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer