--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't make a silk purse out of a…" description: "\"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.\" — Jonathan Swift" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg" --- # You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. ![“You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg) > “You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.” [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempts to create something refined from poor material are futile. **In simple terms:** Fine things can't come from bad sources. Key Takeaway Accept limits of resources. Themes limitations quality expectations Mood cautious pragmatic Type advisory folk wisdom When to use this quote - craftsmanship - product design - budget constraints Key Concepts materialism realism Questions to Reflect On - Can you identify when a project is doomed by its base materials? - What alternatives exist when resources are lacking? A Different Perspective Even with skill, some inputs cannot be improved. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Irish proverbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish-proverbs/) [Spanish proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spanish-proverb/) ## Related quotes > [The best way to make a silk purse from a sow's ear is to begin with a silk sow. The same is true of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-ralph-augustine/the-best-way-to-make-a-silk-purse-from-a-sow-s-ear-is-to-begin-with-a/) [Norman Ralph Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-ralph-augustine/) > [Alongside getting faith out of a heart that is utterly hostile and unbelieving, making a silk purse out of a sow's ear or getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gerstner/alongside-getting-faith-out-of-a-heart-that-is-utterly-hostile-and/) [John Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gerstner/) > [With a bad script and even the best cast, the most you can hope for is to turn a sow's ear into a silk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/with-a-bad-script-and-even-the-best-cast-the-most-you-can-hope-for-is/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [“Spiders draw just enough silk out of their bowels to catch those half-dozen flies they need to feed themselves and their loved ones; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/spiders-draw-just-enough-silk-out-of-their-bowels-to-catch-those-half/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Even if one succeeds in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, there remains the problem of what to do with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/even-if-one-succeeds-in-making-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear-there/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [If you don't generate tension in the film to begin with... you can't really make a purse out of a sow's ear, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-weaver/if-you-don-t-generate-tension-in-the-film-to-begin-with-you-can-t/) [Dennis Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-weaver/) > [Sweeping from butcher's stalls, dung, guts, and blood, Drown'd puppies, stinking sprats, all drench'd in mud, Dead cats, and turnip-tops, come tumbling down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/sweeping-from-butcher-s-stalls-dung-guts-and-blood-drown-d-puppies/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/) [Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/) > [I don't like medicine. There's an old Irish proverb that goes, "If I knew where I was going to die, I wouldn't go there."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-don-t-like-medicine-there-s-an-old-irish-proverb-that-goes-if-i/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [This world has angels all too few, and heaven is overflowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/this-world-has-angels-all-too-few-and-heaven-is-overflowing/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-beard/the-mills-of-god-grind-slowly-but-they-grind-exceedingly-small/) [Charles A. Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-beard/) > [God's help is nearer than the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurney-benham/god-s-help-is-nearer-than-the-door/) [William Gurney Benham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurney-benham/) > [The mills of God grind slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-mills-of-god-grind-slowly/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink ours here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yankovic/in-heaven-there-is-no-beer-that-s-why-we-drink-ours-here/) Frank Yankovic > [What's good for the goose is good for the gander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/what-s-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) ## More by Jonathan Swift > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) [Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Swift" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/519/jonathan-swift-433_ears_you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow_1504110.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.” — Jonathan Swift", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jonathan Swift", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't make a silk purse...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/you-can-t-make-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```