new wine expands as it matures
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
If put in a new skin (bottle) the skin expands with it; if in an old skin, when the wine expands the skin bursts.
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 “new wine expands as it matures” mean?
If put in a new skin (bottle) the skin expands with it; if in an old skin, when the wine expands the skin bursts.
Is “new wine expands as it matures” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.