ProverbHuman Nature
American origin20th c.
American origin20th c.You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy
Meaning: People keep the habits and character of where they grew up.
Example: “He lives in a Manhattan penthouse but still wakes at five to feed nonexistent chickens. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.”
Origin: An American saying of the 20th century, now used with endless substitutions ("the girl out of Brooklyn" and so on). Its first use has not been traced.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Barbara Ara bar Ara araba bara rabarbara. An unbroken 'bar / ara / rab' roll built almost entirely from the same handful of syllabl…
- Ular melingkar-lingkar di atas pagar pak Umar. A rolling 'l / r / ling' drill that loops like the snake it describes.
- ยักษ์ใหญ่ไล่ยักษ์เล็ก (Yák yài lâi yák lék) A tonal 'yak / yai / lai / lek' drill that hops across Thai tones in four short beats.
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