Word.ws English Dictionary

making a silk purse of a sow's ear

making a silk purse of a sow's ear is the present participle and gerund of make a silk purse of a sow's ear.

Meaning of make a silk purse of a sow's ear

Verb

make a silk purse of a sow's ear (third-person singular simple present makes a silk purse of a sow's ear, present participle making a silk purse of a sow's ear, simple past and past participle made a silk purse of a sow's ear)

  1. (idiomatic) To produce something refined, admirable, or valuable from something which is unrefined, unpleasant, or of little or no value.
    • "He always was an unmannerly cub," said Master Headley, as he read the letter. "Well, I've done my best to make a silk purse of a sow's ear!"1884, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 22, in The Armourer's Prentices

Questions about making a silk purse of a sow's ear

What is making a silk purse of a sow's ear the present participle and gerund of?
Making a silk purse of a sow's ear is the present participle and gerund of make a silk purse of a sow's ear.

Words near making a silk purse of a sow's ear in the dictionary

  1. making a point
  2. making a production out of
  3. making a run for it
  4. making a scene
  5. making a show of oneself
  6. making a silk purse of a sow's ear
  7. making a spectacle of oneself
  8. making a splash
  9. making a stand
  10. making a statement
  11. making a stick for one's own back

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: making a silk purse of a sow's ear (page history and authors); make a silk purse of a sow's ear (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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