make a silk purse
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It follows the old adage that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” Adams said.
From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2021
Koeman will say you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and that he is doing the very best he possibly can with what is available to him.
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2021
It takes all sorts to make a silk purse but birds of a feather flock in your cap.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 2, 2019
But I must say, you did make a silk purse out of this.
From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2017
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.'
From Lover or Friend by Carey, Rosa Nouchette
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
