necessary evil

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necessary evil (plural necessary evils)

1. (idiomatic) An unfavorable thing that must be done or accepted, especially because the available alternative courses of action or inaction would be worse.

   Another punishing round of chemo is a necessary evil if Lisa is to have a fighting chance against the cancer.

   My boss is a real piece of work, but my kids make keeping this job a necessary evil.

   • 1957 August, H. P. White, “The Tonbridge-Hastings Line and its Traffic”, in Railway Magazine, page 529:

     Architecturally the stations of the Tonbridge-Hastings line are of great interest. Wadhurst, Robertsbridge and Stonegate are of simple Italinate^[sic] style, unspoiled by that necessary evil of a platform awning.

   • 2025 October 29, Ryan Hall, “Hubble prevents toil and trouble”, in RAIL, number 1047, page 38:

     But today, with more lineside furniture and infrastructure, the potential for problems to arise is greater. The impact of clearing overgrown greenery is a necessary evil that must be tackled - for a variety of reasons.

• you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs