a self-made man
Preserved but no longer current.
One who has risen from poverty and obscurity to opulence and a position of importance by his own efforts. The phrase was originally American.
Người tự mình vươn lên từ nghèo khó và vô danh đến giàu có và vị trí quan trọng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a self-made man” mean?
One who has risen from poverty and obscurity to opulence and a position of importance by his own efforts. The phrase was originally American.
Is “a self-made man” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.