proverb · Words worth keeping
A person in a desperate situation will try the most desperate measures.
A person in a desperate situation will try the most desperate measures.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Desperate circumstances linked with desperate measures describe pressure on someone’s available choices. The saying asks what conditions lie behind a risky response.
What the words are saying
The universal prediction does not establish what any person will do or justify harmful actions. A useful application recognises constrained options and offers practical support. It should not label distressed people dangerous, blame them for needing help or present extreme action as the only possible response.
Everyday example
Someone facing a severe constraint is offered safer options and support rather than assumed to act recklessly.
When to use it
Use it to consider constrained choices without predicting danger or endorsing harm.
What it does not mean
No behaviour guaranteed by desperation or excuse for harmful conduct is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Greece
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 803; PDF page 72; collection label: Greece
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Greece