faute de mieuxn.
/ˌfəʊt də ˈmjəː/, U.S. /ˌfoʊt də ˈmjə/ For want of something better; attributive, used for lack of an alternative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > choice [phrase] > for lack of an alternative
faute de mieux1766
1766 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 13 June (1932) (modernized text) VI. 2742 The Seals..were offered first to Lord Egmont, then to Lord Hardwicke;..but, after their going a begging for some time, the Duke of Richmond begged them, and has them faute de mieux.
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. xxxii. 287 At seven o'clock, up came a cotelette pannée—faute de mieux. I swallowed the composition.
1865 ‘Ouida’ Strathmore I. ii. 22 Still they were better than nothing, and were peppered faute de mieux that day.
1885 W. James Let. 5 Feb. (1920) I. 238 This position..is a parti pris and a pis aller,—faute de mieux,—to continue the Gallic idiom.
1941 W. H. Auden New Year Let. iii. 50 And finds romantic, faute de mieux, The sad nostalgie des adieux.
1949 A. Koestler Insight & Outlook xii. 172 This faute de mieux procedure may seem to be a confirmation of the Freudian thesis.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1766