Necessity has the face of a dog

Question

is this a regular expression in English??

It´s a translation for ´la necesidad tiene cara de hereje´, which is a common expression in Spanish language.

Thanks in advance.

Note: In Spanish it means that, out of necesessity, a person might do things s/he´s not inclned or willing to

Answer 1

Mediterrunio said:

oh,well, here the idea is that necessity justifies almost anything

The expression "necessity hath no law" and the similar expressions "need hath no law," "necessity has no law," "necessity knows no law," etc all carry a very similar meaning but are probably not all that commonly said in everyday conversation.

wow, you hit the nail! you provided me with Necessitas caret lege translated into English. Then I found out that phrase gave origin to the Spanish pharse - mediterrunio, Sep 8, 2010

Answer 2

I don't believe it is. I have never heard of it before. I just googled it and found some similar ones that sound like they might convey an idea along those lines.

"Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention" meaning "You will find a way to do it. When you have to, you do."

or another similar idiom might be "out of necessity" meaning that something was done only because there was a need.

oh,well, here the idea is that necessity justifies almost anything, it´s not just out of necessity, that would be por necesidad. thanks anyway - mediterrunio, Sep 8, 2010

So maybe its more like "The ends justify the means"? - rtuttle1, Sep 8, 2010

Answer 3

If anyone should know, it would be me (see avatar) and I have never heard the expression.

jajajajaa, very funny!! - mediterrunio, Sep 8, 2010