{"id":3312,"date":"2022-05-05T21:15:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T21:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3312"},"modified":"2022-05-05T21:15:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T21:15:15","slug":"you-cant-teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/you-cant-teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can\u2019t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone that they are set in their ways? If they struggle to learn new concepts or don\u2019t pay them any mind, you could say that \u201c<em>you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks<\/em>.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \u201c<em>you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks<\/em>\u201d refers to seniors stuck in their ways and resistant to change.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI give up on teaching my grandad how to use the internet and email. Sometimes you just can\u2019t teach old dogs new tricks. He\u2019s set in his ways, and he doesn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at Elaine struggling to learn the CRM. She\u2019s spent the last twenty years using the old system, struggling to adapt to the new CRM. I guess you can\u2019t teach old dogs new tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t bother trying to teach mom how to use Twitter. Old dogs can\u2019t learn new tricks, and it will just frustrate her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3313\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-Cant-Teach-an-Old-Dog-New-Tricks.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"166\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3314\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/You-Cant-Teach-an-Old-Dog-New-Tricks2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"169\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression \u201cyou can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks\u201d comes from the mid-1500s. It\u2019s one of the oldest idiomatic expressions in English, and the original use of the phrase appears in<\/p>\n<p>The earliest use of the expression in print comes from John Fitzherbert, in his book \u201cThe Boke of Husbandry,\u201d published in 1534, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c...and he [a shepherd] muste teche his dogge to barke whan he wolde haue hym, to ronne whan he wold haue hym, and to leue ronning whan he wolde haue hym; or els he is not a cunninge shepeherd. The dogge must lerne it, whan he is a whelpe, or els it will not be: for it is harde to make an olde dogge to stoupe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The saying also appears in \u201cA Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue,\u201d published in 1546.<\/p>\n<p>The more modern version of the saying first appeared in print in 1721 in the book \u201cDivers Proverbs\u201d authored by Nathan Baily. While it isn\u2019t the exact version of the modern phrase, it\u2019s very close.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn old dog will learn no tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meaning of YOU CAN&#039;T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS - A Really Short English Lesson with Subtitles\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4j8LMj7zWvE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to You Can\u2019t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can't get blood out of a stone.<\/li>\n<li>You can't have your cake and eat it too.<\/li>\n<li>You can't hold with the hare and run with the hound.<\/li>\n<li>You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.<\/li>\n<li>Old habits die hard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to You Can\u2019t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can learn at any age.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s never too late to learn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say You Can\u2019t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Some people may use the phrase in its literal meaning, referring to their pet. However, it is possible to teach old dogs new tricks as long as you incentivize them. When using the phrase, the \"dog\" refers to a person, not the animal.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the saying, \"you can't teach old dogs new tricks,\" when referring to people set in their ways. They spend a long time practicing their techniques or habits, and they are resistant to change, preferring to do things their way.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase suits social and professional use. You could use it at work to describe a manager's attitude to running their business or team and their inability to look for a new, fresh approach to problem-solving.<\/p>\n<p>You could use it at home to describe how your grandfather refuses to use the internet. His resistance to technology may come from his lack of interest in learning new things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone that they are set in their ways? If they struggle to learn new concepts or don\u2019t pay them any mind, you could say that \u201cyou can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u201cyou [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3312"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3330,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3312\/revisions\/3330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}