Proverb of The Week - You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Posted by jennifer in Jennifer's Tip of the week on April 28th, 2011 | Read full text »You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
(elderly people can’t change their behaviour or learn anything new)
To many of his friends, Mr. Jones seemed quite eccentric. Although he was getting on in years, he had a long-standing habit of going out alone to walk in a shoddy part of town late at night. His friends warned him that this was a dangerous practice, and they advised to do his walking during the day. However, he made no effort to change his routine. It was evident that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Even his closest friends had to accept the fact that it’s almost impossible for an elderly person to adopt a new routine.
From 101 American English Proverbs - Understanding Language and Culture Through Commonly Used Sayings
by Harry Collis and Illustrated by Mario Risso