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Phrase(s): Half a loaf is better than none.
Prov. Getting only part of what you want is better than not getting anything. • Fred: How did your court case go? Alan: Not good. I asked for $500, and the judge only awarded me $200. Fred: Half a loaf is better than none.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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Something is better than nothing, even if it is less than one wanted. For example, He had asked for a new trumpet but got a used one? oh well, half a loaf is better than none. This expression, often shortened, was already a proverb in 1546, where it was explicitly put: "For better is half a loaf than no bread."
American Heritage Idioms