better the devil you know

Translations
лучше знакомое зло
He decided to stay in the current job because better the devil you know.
Он решил остаться на текущей работе, потому что лучше знакомое зло.
Definitions
This phrase means that it is sometimes preferable to deal with a familiar problem or situation, even if it is unpleasant, rather than risk encountering an unknown situation that could be worse.
Words
better

adjective
лучше
the

article or possessive pronoun
этот
devil

noun
дьявол
you

pronoun
вы
know

verb
знаете