If you must have an evil, choose a little one.

When every available course carries some harm, prefer the option that causes the least damage. The saying frames this as a practical choice between undesirable alternatives, not as approval of wrongdoing.

It can also counsel proportion: accept a limited inconvenience, loss, or fault to prevent a larger one. Its force depends on there being no genuinely harmless alternative, and on recognizing clearly who may be harmed and how.

Use it when comparing unavoidable bad outcomes, such as accepting a minor setback to avoid serious loss. It suits cautionary or pragmatic advice, but clarify concrete harms when others are affected and do not use it to excuse harm where a harmless option exists.