East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet

¹ Cultural  

1. The culture of the West (Europe and the Americas) will always be very different from that of the East (Asia). (Twain means “two.”) This saying is part of the refrain of “The Ballad of East and West,” a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

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East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet ² Cultural  

1. A line from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. It continues, a few lines later: “But there is neither East nor West … When two strong men stand face to face.”

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Example Sentences

Rudyard Kipling, England’s poet of empire, wrote, “Oh, east is east and west is west, and never the twain shall meet”, contrasting Europe and Asia, but ignoring everywhere else.

From The Guardian

The title of this novel is inspired by the refrain of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Ballad of East and West,” a poem about divergent cultures, honor and war, first published in 1889: “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.”

From Washington Post

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” wrote British writer Rudyard Kipling—but several Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are aiming to become aviation hubs serving the two halves of the world.

From Forbes

But could it be that, for the man who wrote "what do they know of England who only England know?"; "the female of the species is more deadly than the male" and "you'll be a man, my son", a more lasting theme may be "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet"?

From BBC

Reply Report Abuse Posted By: othoschild @ 01/16/2010 3:13:08 AM The wisdom of Rudyard Kipling is all the more evident.."East is east, and West is west..And never the twain shall meet."

From Newsweek