make a silk purse
IdiomsExample Sentences
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No manager can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2022
“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
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
This Roman proverb, Courteous Reader! is adequately rendered by a homely one of our own--"You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."
From Walladmor: And Now Freely Translated from the German into English. In Two Volumes. Vol. II. by De Quincey, Thomas
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.