51³Ô¹Ï

Advertisement

Advertisement

Boys will be boys

  1. Children can be expected to act in a childish way.


Discover More

Notes

“Boys will be boys†is often applied to grown men who act childishly.
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

One can expect boys to act childishly or misbehave, as in We told the kids not to eat in the living room, but when we got home there was a big mess there—oh well, boys will be boys . This term came from a Latin proverb, translated as “Children [boys] are children [boys] and do childish things.†In English it was first recorded in 1589.
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“I know you ain’t used to a female alpha,†she sang in the title track of “Future Nostalgia†in 2020, and she denounced male entitlement in “Boys Will Be Boys.â€

From

That report warned that a “boys will be boys†attitude “is very much still around.â€

From

He starred as Chazz Russell in Boys Will Be Boys and had roles in shows including Growing Pains.

From

In the late 1980s, he starred as Chazz Russell in Boys Will Be Boys and as Roger alongside Christina Applegate in teen movie Dance 'Til Dawn.

From

He starred as Chazz Russell in Boys Will Be Boys and also had roles in shows including Growing Pains.

From

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement