How to Pronounce "you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"
expression
Definition
This means you cannot create something beautiful, valuable, or high quality from poor materials or a bad situation. It suggests there are limits to what improvement or skill can achieve.
IPA Transcription
American English
ˈju/ /ˈkænɑt/, /kəˈnɑt/ /ˈmeɪk/ /ˈeɪ/, /ə/ /ˈsɪɫk/ /ˈpɝs/ /ˈaʊt/ /ˈəv/ /ˈeɪ/, /ə/ /saʊz/ /ˈiɹ/, /ˈɪɹ
British English
jˈuː/ /kəˈnɑt/ /mˈeɪk/ /æɪ/ /sˈɪlk/ /pˈɜːs/ /ˈaʊt/ /ˈɒv/ /æɪ/ /saʊz/ /ˈiə
Simplified Pronunciation
US
YOO KAN-not MAYK uh SILK PURS OWT uh SOWZ EER
UK
YOO kuh-NOT MAYK uh SILK PURS OWT OV SOWZ EE-uh
Listen in Context
You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear if you use cheap materials.
No matter how hard you try, you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
The project failed because you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
We did our best, but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.