man tager vad man haver

Swedish

Etymology

From man (“one”) +‎ tager (“takes (dated form of tar)”) +‎ vad (“what”) +‎ man (“one”) +‎ haver (“has (dated form of har)”), "You use whatever you have." Often attributed to cookbook author Cajsa Warg (1703 – 1769), though there is no account of her using the expression.

Proverb

man tager vad man haver

1. you use what you have on hand (if something else is not available)

   Jag hade i pinjenötter istället för solroskärnor. Man tager vad man haver.

   I added pine nuts instead of sunflower seeds. You use whatever you have.

   Det blev en "man tager vad man haver"-måltid idag

   I did an improvised meal with what I had available today