boys will be boys
/bɔɪ̯z wɪl bi bɔɪ̯z/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.72 in modern English
29
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
proverb
It is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys.
proverb
Any potentially objectionable behavior (especially predatory sexual behavior) that the speaker considers to be commonly practiced by many boys and men should be viewed as excusable because it comes naturally to them.
Informal; Offensive
Example Sentences
- "But just then there was a slight altercation between Master Tommy and Master Jacky. Boys will be boys and our two twins were no exception to this golden rule."
- "Boys will be boys, grinned Grandpa as he watched his adult son playing with the fancy train-set he had given his grandson for Christmas."
- "It's not hard to see the parallels between the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the 2012 Steubenville rape case. Three decades apart, there is one central difference: Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, and has never been criminally charged. In the Steubenville case, two star football players were convicted of raping a girl, and sentenced to prison. But amid the outrage in both cases, there has been a chorus of "boys will be boys," the excuse of youth, of teenage brains that can't control themselves and the victim shaming that accompanies that perception."
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɔɪ̯z wɪl bi bɔɪ̯z/
- British English: /bɔɪ̯z wɪl biː bɔɪ̯z/