на безрыбье и рак рыба

Russian

Etymology

Literally, “when there are no fish, even a crayfish is a fish”; cognate with Polish na bezrybiu i rak ryba. Compare English in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nə‿bʲɪzˈrɨb⁽ʲ⁾je i rak ˈrɨbə]

Proverb

на безры́бье и рак ры́ба • (na bezrýbʹje i rak rýba)

1. beggars can't be choosers (in a pinch anything will do)