1. Home
2. Idioms
3. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ea

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ea

---

---

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

Prov. You cannot make someone more refined than he or she is by nature. I've given up trying to get my cousin to appreciate classical music. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

See also: cannot, ear, make, of, out, purse, silk