idiom requests - What's the English for "chiodo scaccia chiodo"?


I'm looking for a BrE or AmE saying that conveys the idea of the Italian saying "chiodo scaccia chiodo", that is "one nail drives out another". The only suggestion I could find is "one problem drives away another" which doesn't appear to be a common one.


Besides, the exact meaning of the Italian proverb is that an issue ( often a heart affair) can be best solved by another issue of similar nature. For instance:


If your girlfriend has left you for someone else and you are sad and depressed, the best solution to your problem is a new girlfriend ( who will help you forget the old one), or if you lose your job you'll best solve your problem by finding a new similar one, but a new job will not solve the "girlfriend" problem and viceversa.


What is the English idiomatic expression used in the examples cited above?




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