FAUTE DE MIEUX

I. fōtdəmyœ̅ adverb

Etymology: French, for lack of something better

: for lack of something better or more desirable

sherry made him dopey but he drank it faute de mieux — F.T.Marsh

we would welcome it — faute de mieux — even if it were only mediocre — F.B.Agard & W.G.Moulton

II. adjective

: adopted or undertaken for lack of something better

only the result of a faute de mieux formula, and not of a desired stylization — R.J.Goldwater

such marriages … were faute de mieux and usually accepted because there was no other alternative — L.S.B.Leaky