Clothes don't make the man
Meaning: External appearances cannot determine a person's true character, integrity, or worth.
Origin: The reverse of the old saying "clothes make the man," which Erasmus recorded in Latin as vestis virum facit, citing the Roman writer Quintilian. Another Latin proverb makes the same point as this one: cucullus non facit monachum, the hood does not make the monk.
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Every man has a price — Self-interest ultimately overcomes principle when temptation or desperation grows large e…
- He laughs best that laughs last — Final triumph matters more than immediate advantage or temporary mockery.
- It's a man's world — Women historically faced systemic exclusion from power, property, and opportunity in male…
- Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan — Kennedy in the context of the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961).
- There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle — Worn-out tools and aging people retain their value and capability despite visible deterio…
- A man cannot live by the air. — No one survives on nothing; real sustenance, not mere hope, is required.
From our compliments & insults
- ¡Qué cara más dura! — You've got incredible nerve and cheek — the audacity is almost impressive.
- Es un/una pesado/a — A dreadful bore — their company feels like carrying extra weight.
- Más terco/a que una mula — Hopelessly obstinate — no argument, fact, or force of nature will shift their position.