Boys will be boys.

In Stanley J. St. Clair’s Most Comprehensive Origins of Clichés, Proverbs, and Figurative Expressions, he writes this about the “boys will be boys” cliché: “The term implies that there are certain intrinsic characteristics which apply to all young male humans which remain constant, and we may as well accept them for who they are and let nature take its course. It has been over-used by parents and well-meaning friends of young boys for generation after generation, but for those enduring their antics, it gets no easier to bear.” He also tells us that this expression has been around a long time. “Youth will be youth” appeared in print in 1903.

So apparently young male humans have behaved in ways that required patience and acceptance for about as long as we can remember. I have heard the parents of boys bemoan their behavior, usually in a lighthearted way that is accompanied by a sigh of resignation. These parents maintain the hope that their boys will eventually mature and become upstanding adult males who have put aside juvenile behavior. But there’s another cliché that comes into play when a boy has reached a certain age. That is, “It’s a guy thing.” I still haven’t quite figured out what sorts of behaviors fall into that category, but my feeling is that they, too, might require a certain patience and acceptance.

What’s after, “Boys Will Be Boys?”

Check out Dr. Carolyn Lee’s blogs on her website, she features a new cliché each week or you can order her new book, Keep Your Eye on the Ball And Other Clichès to Live By. You can also find several more short cliché stories Carolyn’s very own Cliché Dictionary. Curious about the author? Read more about Carolyn here.