different strokes for different folks

proverb

Different people like different things; there's no accounting for taste.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. Different people like different things; there's no accounting for taste.

    There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one / That won't accept the red one, that won't accept the white one / Different strokes for different folks

    1968, “Everyday People”, in Stand!, performed by Sly and the Family Stone

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
there's no accounting for tasteto each his own

Origin

1950s US origin, popularized by Muhammad Ali (1966) and later the song "Everyday People" by Sly Stone (1968).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

different strokes for different folks. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/different%20strokes%20for%20different%20folks

MLA

“different strokes for different folks.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/different%20strokes%20for%20different%20folks. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “different strokes for different folks,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/different%20strokes%20for%20different%20folks.

Source: different strokes for different folks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.