any port in a storm

Probably from the earlier figurative use of port in a (or the) storm to mean a comfort or refuge in difficult circumstances: see the 1657 quotation.

• "[W]hen vveaker veſſels beare ſaile only in a calme, a true veſſell of Chriſt ſhould ſaile beſt to his vviſhed port in a ſtorme."
• "Pooh, ſays he my dear, any port in a ſtorm."
• "I'll give you the journal, my boy, […] eight A.M. Bonypart running away; nine A.M. Bonypart on board; ten A.M. Bonypart sinking; eleven A.M. Bonypart in Davy's Locker; Meridian Bonypart in the north corner of ——, where it burns and freezes at the same time: but you know any port in a storm, Bony, so there I'll leave ye."
• "[A]s this Scotsman's howf lies right under your lee, why, take any port in a storm."
• "I was equally indifferent to cost and convenience in my choice of a lodging—"any port in a storm" was the principle on which I was prepared to act; […]"
• "After finding both stairwells untenable at the roof, the Captain and the rookie take the window‐washing scaffold—any port in a storm—down the side of the building to the fire floor."
• "Most supporters have been surprised at how Joe [Kinnear] has steadied the ship and most people seemed to have warmed to him. He wasn’t the most popular appointment, but I think the phrase ‘any port in a storm’ came to mind when we were getting turned down by everyone."

• beggars can't be choosers

• all's fair in love and war
• any hole's a goal
• beggars can't be choosers
• desperate times call for desperate measures
• necessity knows no law
• needs must when the devil drives