Turning to something as a last option when other choices aren't available or have failed.
From Old French 'resort' (to go frequently), from Latin 're-' (again) + 'sortire' (to go out). By the 1500s, it meant turning to something as a resource or going back to an option.
The phrase 'resort to' almost always implies you're doing something you'd rather not—it's about desperation more than choice, which is why it appears so often in crime novels and war stories!
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