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3. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's

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You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

  (old-fashioned)

something that you say which means you cannot make a good quality product using bad quality materials To make chairs that'll last, you need good strong pieces of wood. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

See also: ear, make, of, out, purse, silk