handsome is as handsome does
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.
‘But handsome is as handsome does, as we say in the Shire; and I daresay we shall all look much the same after lying for days in hedges and ditches.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
![]()
Handsome enough, your Honor," he said, "unless handsome is as handsome does.
From To Have and to Hold by Johnston, Mary
Beauty is skin deep, and handsome is as handsome does," I paraded my English "Oh, she is a good girl every way: a fine housekeeper, good-natured, and educated.
From The Rise of David Levinsky by Cahan, Abraham
She taught her that it isn't handsome is as handsome does, but the boots and shoes, after all.
From The Spread Eagle and Other Stories by Morris, Gouverneur
Mrs. MacCall said that "handsome is as handsome does."
From The Corner House Girls Growing Up What Happened First, What Came Next. And How It Ended by Hill, Grace Brooks
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.