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



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

Be unable to turn something ugly or inferior into something attractive or of value, as in No matter how expensive his clothes, he still looks sloppy-you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear . This expression was already a proverb in the mid-1500s.
See also: ear, make, of, out, purse, silk

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Howard['hauəd]
Vangel-Macedonian
AnnamÁRia-Hungarian
Mislav-Croatian, Medieval Slavic
ChastityCHAST-i-teeEnglish
Udane-Basque