boys will be boys

UK/bɔɪ̯z wɪl biː bɔɪ̯z/Canada, US, Scotland/bɔɪ̯z wɪl bi bɔɪ̯z/Australia/boɪ̯z wɪl biː boɪ̯z/New Zealand/boɪ̯z wəl biː boɪ̯z/

proverb

It is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys.

“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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Meanings

proverb
  1. 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
  2. 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.

  3. informaloffensiveAny 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.
    1 more example

    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

Finnish pojat ovat poikia, pojat ovat poikia
  • pojat ovat poikiamen remain boyish at heart
  • pojat ovat poikiaboys are mischievous by nature
  • pojat ovat poikiabad behavior should not be criticized if it is typical of boys and men
French il faut que jeunesse se passe
  • il faut que jeunesse se passeboys are mischievous by nature
German Jungen sind nun einmal so
  • Jungen sind nun einmal soboys are mischievous by nature
Polish mężczyźni mogą być jak dzieci, chłopcy zawsze będą chłopcami
  • mężczyźni mogą być jak dziecimen remain boyish at heart
  • chłopcy zawsze będą chłopcamiboys are mischievous by nature
  • chłopcy zawsze będą chłopcamibad behavior should not be criticized if it is typical of boys and men
Russian мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки, мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки
  • мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки (malʹčíški jéstʹ malʹčíški)men remain boyish at heart
  • мальчи́шки е́сть мальчи́шки (malʹčíški jéstʹ malʹčíški)boys are mischievous by nature
Cite this entry
APA

boys will be boys. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys%20will%20be%20boys

MLA

“boys will be boys.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys%20will%20be%20boys. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boys will be boys,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boys%20will%20be%20boys.

Source: boys will be boys on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.