na bezrybiu i rak ryba

Polish

Etymology

Literally, “when there are no fish, even a crayfish is a fish”. Compare Russian на безры́бье и рак ры́ба (na bezrýbʹje i rak rýba).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na bɛzˈrɨ.bju i rak ˈrɨ.ba/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɨba

Proverb

na bezrybiu i rak ryba

1. (idiomatic) beggars can't be choosers, if we can't as we would, we must do as we can

Further reading

• na bezrybiu i rak ryba in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• na bezrybiu i rak ryba in Polish dictionaries at PWN