Where bad's the best, naught must be the choice.

If even the most favorable option is bad, selecting from the available options offers no satisfactory outcome. The proverb presents choosing nothing as the wiser course.

Its point is not merely that a decision is difficult. It draws a line between imperfect choices worth weighing and a set of choices so poor that refusing them all is preferable.

Use it when someone is being pressed to pick from options they consider unacceptable, especially to argue that declining to choose is a meaningful alternative. Its wording gives that refusal a firm, proverbial tone.