boys will be boys

== English == === Pronunciation === enPR: boiz wĭl bē boiz (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɔɪ̯z wɪl biː bɔɪ̯z/ (General American, Canada, Scotland) IPA(key): /bɔɪ̯z wɪl bi bɔɪ̯z/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /boɪ̯z wɪl biː boɪ̯z/ (New Zealand) IPA(key): /boɪ̯z wəl biː boɪ̯z/ (India) IPA(key): /bɔjz wɪl biː bɔjz/ Hyphenation: boys will be boys === Proverb === boys will be boys It is hard, often fruitless, to attempt to curb the natural playfulness and tendency to mischief of most growing boys. Even grown men usually remain somewhat boyish at heart. (informal, chiefly 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. ==== Translations ==== === References === Titelman, Gregory Y. (1996), Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, →ISBN, page 33 === Further reading === “boys will be boys”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.