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This happens to me a lot, but I can't seem to find the right noun for it.
In the saying "A string is useful until a rope could be found," what would you call the string? That's the noun I'm looking for.
In relationships, I don't think I want to end up being someone's _ because she couldn't find that special someone she truly wanted.
O, yes, and adjective form, too?
There are two French phrases which have become largely naturalized in English—to the extent, at least, that they are not ordinarily printed in italics:
pis aller, used as a nominal : literally "worst going", a stopgap or last resort
faute de mieux, usually adverbial but occasionally adjectival : for lack of anything better
Faute de mieux comes closer in sense to what you want, and if you took the liberty afforded by its Anglicization to employ it as a nominal only the most negligible pedants would reproach you.
The string could be called a "stop-gap measure" or a "stop-gap solution."
For example, a string would be a good stop-gap measure for stanching a bleeder, but a rope would make a better tourniquet if it's available.
In other words, a string will do "in a pinch," but when you are not constrained by time or an emergency, locating and using the right rope (or a "real" tourniquet) is a better idea.
When planning, one could have a fallback, also known as a backup or contingency plan. As for relationships, you're looking for the negative form, which may be referred to as the 'rebound' (slang), or perhaps also fallback- or goto- girl/guy.
You don't want to end up being someone's second choice. If it happens often, you will begin to feel like a second class person. This could be due to the quality of your work, which might be second rate.
A sting may suffice as an alternative to a rope.
In modern use 'adequacy' is normally a non-count noun which refers to the quality of being adequate.
He would not settle for adequacy.
However, it could also be used as a count noun to refer to the object itself, although this usage is rare/archaic.
The string was an adequacy until a rope could be found.
Although rare, I think most people would understand this usage in context.
