Fancy passes beauty.
Fancy passes beauty.
Meaning in plain English
Personal liking can matter more to someone than conventional beauty. What appeals to a person need not be the thing that others rate most attractive.
Example
A reader chooses a modestly bound edition because its layout and familiar illustrations appeal to them more than an ornate edition praised by others.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Fancy can be understood here as preference or inclination, while passes suggests outweighing beauty in the person’s choice. The proverb leaves room for attraction that does not follow a shared ranking of appearances. It is an interpretation of preference rather than a claim that everyone experiences liking in the same way. Beauty itself can also be judged differently by different viewers. The helpful point is that an individual may have reasons or feelings that a conventional standard does not capture. In matters of personal taste, explaining a preference can be more useful than insisting that one supposed hierarchy should decide everyone’s response.
When to use it
Use it when a personal preference differs from an assumed standard of attractiveness.
Keep in mind
Preference is not a licence to disregard other people’s choices or consent; standards of beauty also vary.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 546 · Fancy
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗