needs must
proverb1
Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of needs must when the devil drives.
- “Needs must,” and the haughty summons of Britain rings even in the impregnable heart of Thibet. This is the mission of Empire, the will of a dominant people bent on advancing the interests of trade.1905, The Chronicle of the London Missionary Society, page 199:
- "Needs must and all that – and the devil so often does, doesn't he?" “Excuse me?" "Drives – the devil. Such a relentless old bugger."1999, Jill Laurimore, Going to Pot, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 155: