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make a silk purse of a sow's ear

To produce something refined, admirable, or valuable from something which is unrefined, unpleasant, or of little or no value.

Etymology:

  • Coined by Stephen Gosson in 1579 in the book The Ephemerides of Phialo: Deuided Into Three Bookes p62v
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Submitted on July 07, 2010

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to make a silk purse of a sow's ear

make a name for oneselfmake a pig of oneselfmake a virtue of necessitymake a pointmake a pug facemake a spectacle of oneselfmake an exhibition of oneselfmake a run for itmake a pig's ear ofmake a wagerMake a Silk Purse Out of a Sow's Earmake aftermake all the differencemake a night of it

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    "make a silk purse of a sow's ear." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/make-a-silk-purse-of-a-sows-ear_13623>.

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