Therefore, it is usually not a stand-alone word. When it appears in a sentence as a stand-alone word, the option one decides not to choose is already clearly implied in the context. however, after evaluating the situation, one decides that option A is still less undesirable than option b. If option A is a longish sentence, a comma is used after it. Civilians would rather die than live a life without freedom. What does ‘rather be chicken head not be cow tail’ mean? This Chinese proverb means that I would rather be a big fish in a small pond than be a small fish in a big pond.