The vicar of Bray will be vicar of Bray. (Manser, 2007 p. 286)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Someone who adapts to circumstances to maintain position
Literally: a clergyman from Bray
Examples
He changed parties twice, proving the vicar of Bray will be vicar of Bray
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 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “The vicar of Bray will be vicar of Bray. (Manser, 2007 p. 286)” mean?
Someone who adapts to circumstances to maintain position Literally: a clergyman from Bray
Is “The vicar of Bray will be vicar of Bray. (Manser, 2007 p. 286)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.