Fine feathers make fine birds. (Simpson , 2009)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Attractive appearance or dress makes a person seem more impressive
Literally: ornate plumage makes a bird look fine
Examples
The celebrity's designer gown proved that fine feathers make fine birds
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Fine feathers make fine birds. (Simpson , 2009)” mean?
Attractive appearance or dress makes a person seem more impressive Literally: ornate plumage makes a bird look fine
Is “Fine feathers make fine birds. (Simpson , 2009)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.