Would you like to point out the error to someone's ways, or find a different way to say that people don't often change their old habits or behavior? The phrase 'old habits die hard' is a common English language saying that can be used to say this. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this saying.
Meaning
The phrase 'old habits die hard' is used to mean that someone does not easily change old habits or behavior, or implies that it can be difficult to do so.
The phrase 'old habits die hard' is said as a complete saying that implies the rest of the meaning when it is being said.
'Old habits die hard' can be used as a comeback to someone telling the speaker to stop a habit of theirs (e.g. smoking cigarettes).
The phrase 'old habits die hard' can also be used to point out a third-party in conversation with others, and implies that their ways or habits won't easily be changed.
The saying can be used to say that someone is very set in their ways, and is not going to change.
Sometimes the phrase implies a mild insult when it is being said about someone.
The phrase is used in full, and to say 'rare habit' is not a common use of the phrase. Whether the phrase refers to one habit or several, the term is always expressed as 'habits' when said.
There are many equivalent sayings in English, including to say that 'a leopard does not change its (their) spots' that means the same.
Example Usage
“I can't believe that my grandmother got distant with us the way she did with our parents. Well, I guess that old habits die hard.”
“My grandfather told me that he started smoking cigarettes when he was six years old. He continued smoking until he died from an exploding oxygen tank. I guess that old habits die hard.”
“If you want to stop smoking, replace one habit with another and think about taking up religion. Old habits die hard.”
“If you don't want to smoke, start drinking in your old age. I know that old habits die hard, but you can always choose a new one.”
Origin
The origin and first use of the phrase 'old habits die hard' is a phrase that is most commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who wrote down the descriptive phase for a speech somewhere in the mid-1700s.
Some resources argue that the phrase came to be in the 13th century, and that Franklin only paraphrased a prior sentence.
After the republication of his speeches and letters, the phrase would become more common in the 1900s.
The phrase would become somewhat of a catchphrase absorbed into general language, with a lot of users forgetting its origin. The phrase means what it says, and its meaning has remained largely unchanged since the phrase was used the first time.
Popular culture and social media would continue the use of the term (with the same meaning) throughout the 2010s.
Phrases Similar to Old Habits Die Hard
- The more things change (the more they stay the same)
- A creature of habit
Phrases Opposite to Old Habits Die Hard
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- Old habits die hard
Ways People May Say Old Habits Die Hard Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone can use or understand the phrase 'old habits die hard' in the wrong way: the phrase does not translate well to all languages, and would make no sense in some languages as a directly translated saying.
Someone cannot say 'old habit dies hard' and this would be incorrect repetition of the saying.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Old Habits Die Hard
The correct way to use the phrase 'old habits die hard' is to use the phrase as-is: it can be used to describe or imply that people do not easily change their habits, or might point out the same jokingly or sarcastically.