Like author, like book. (John Ray)

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

The style or quality of a book reflects its author's character

Examples

The professor's writing was dry, like author, like book, given his dull lectures

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 “Like author, like book. (John Ray)” mean?

The style or quality of a book reflects its author's character

Is “Like author, like book. (John Ray)” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.