can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
Idioms & Phrases
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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