boys will be boys en · X
Pronunciation
- /bɔɪ̯z wɪl bi bɔɪ̯z/ (Canada, General-American, Scotland)
- boiz wĭl bē boiz
- /bɔɪ̯z wɪl biː bɔɪ̯z/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /boɪ̯z wɪl biː boɪ̯z/ (Australia)
- /bɔjz wɪl biː bɔjz/ (India)
- /boɪ̯z wəl biː boɪ̯z/ (New-Zealand)
- (US) audio
Meanings
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It is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys.
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.
1922, James Joyce, chapter 13, in Ulysses:
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Even grown men usually remain somewhat boyish at heart.
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.
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(informal, offensive) 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.
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.
2018 September 27, Mary Kilpatrick, “Why the 'boys will be boys' justification of sexual violence doesn't fly: Comparing Kavanaugh to Steubenville”, in Shatter on Cleveland.com, published 29 January 2019, retrieved 19 Mar 2021:
Translations (12)
fr il faut que jeunesse se passe (boys are mischievous by nature) · pl mężczyźni mogą być jak dzieci (men remain boyish at heart) · sh dečki će biti dečki (boys are mischievous by nature) · pl chłopcy zawsze będą chłopcami (bad behavior should not be criticized if it is typical of boys and men) · fi pojat ovat poikia (bad behavior should not be criticized if it is typical of boys and men) · sh дечки ће бити дечки (boys are mischievous by nature) · de Jungen sind nun einmal so (boys are mischievous by nature) · ru мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки (men remain boyish at heart) · fi pojat ovat poikia (boys are mischievous by nature) · ru мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки (boys are mischievous by nature) · pl chłopcy zawsze będą chłopcami (boys are mischievous by nature) · fi pojat ovat poikia (men remain boyish at heart)