according to The Phrase Finder, it means :Meaning Someone who is basically good hearted but lacking social graces and respect for the law. This term is often used to describe people on the edge of the criminal fraternity who, while they may not commit serious crimes themselves, probably know people who do. The English comic actor, the late Sid James, typified the type on and off stage and was typecast in such roles. For example, he played Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond in the Ealing comedy Carry On Up The Khyber. That was quite appropriate for this phrase as it turns out - Sid James worked in a diamond mine in South Africa before becoming an actor. Origin The phrase is clearly a metaphor for the original unpolished state of diamond gemstones, especially those that have the potential to become high quality jewels. It is more commonly expressed in the form 'rough diamond'. The first recorded use in print is in John Fletcher's A Wife for a Month, 1624: "She is very honest, and will be as hard to cut as a rough diamond.""
then Bartleby.com expressed a similar meaning for it: "Someone or something with potential or talent but lacking training or polish: “Her singing voice is beautiful, but she needs help with her gestures; she’s a diamond in the rough.” This phrase refers to the fact that diamonds found in nature are rough and uneven. They must be cut and polished to bring out their true beauty."
I also found photos of "diamonds in the rough" by doing a google image search
I still don't see how a diamond in the rough has anything at all to do with me... or how this google image results relate to me.
I also found someone's blog called A Diamond In The Rough . I found it interesting. STILL, I don't get how any of it has to do with me...
I shall now do a dictionary.com look up for the meaning and see what kind of results I come up with. maybe that will provide more clues for me:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dia·mond /ˈdaɪmənd, ˈdaɪə-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dahy-muhnd, dahy-uh-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a pure or nearly pure, extremely hard form of carbon, naturally crystallized in the isometric system.
2. a piece of this stone.
3. a transparent, flawless or almost flawless piece of this stone, esp. when cut and polished, valued as a precious gem.
4. a ring or other piece of jewelry containing such a precious stone, esp. an engagement ring.
5. a piece of this stone used in a drill or cutting tool.
6. a tool provided with such an uncut stone, used for cutting glass.
7. crystallized carbon, or a piece of it, artificially produced.
8. an equilateral quadrilateral, esp. as placed with its diagonals vertical and horizontal; a lozenge or rhombus.
9. any rhombus-shaped figure or object oriented with its diagonals vertical and horizontal.
10. a red rhombus-shaped figure on a playing card.
11. a card of the suit bearing such figures.
12. diamonds, (used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Diamonds is trump. Diamonds are trump.
13. Baseball.
a. the space enclosed by home plate and the three bases; infield.
b. the entire playing field.
14. Printing. a 41/2 -point type of a size between brilliant and pearl. –adjective
15. made of or set with a diamond or diamonds.
16. having the shape of a diamond: a dress with a diamond print.
17. indicating the 75th, or sometimes the 60th, event of a series, as a wedding anniversary. –verb (used with object)
18. to adorn with or as if with diamonds. —Idiom
19. diamond in the rough, a person of fine character but lacking refined manners or graces.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME diamant <> F aimant magnet, OPr aziman diamond, magnet), for L adamas adamant, diamond] —Related forms
dia·mond·like, adjective
dia·mond /ˈdaɪmənd, ˈdaɪə-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dahy-muhnd, dahy-uh-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a pure or nearly pure, extremely hard form of carbon, naturally crystallized in the isometric system.
2. a piece of this stone.
3. a transparent, flawless or almost flawless piece of this stone, esp. when cut and polished, valued as a precious gem.
4. a ring or other piece of jewelry containing such a precious stone, esp. an engagement ring.
5. a piece of this stone used in a drill or cutting tool.
6. a tool provided with such an uncut stone, used for cutting glass.
7. crystallized carbon, or a piece of it, artificially produced.
8. an equilateral quadrilateral, esp. as placed with its diagonals vertical and horizontal; a lozenge or rhombus.
9. any rhombus-shaped figure or object oriented with its diagonals vertical and horizontal.
10. a red rhombus-shaped figure on a playing card.
11. a card of the suit bearing such figures.
12. diamonds, (used with a singular or plural verb) the suit so marked: Diamonds is trump. Diamonds are trump.
13. Baseball.
a. the space enclosed by home plate and the three bases; infield.
b. the entire playing field.
14. Printing. a 41/2 -point type of a size between brilliant and pearl. –adjective
15. made of or set with a diamond or diamonds.
16. having the shape of a diamond: a dress with a diamond print.
17. indicating the 75th, or sometimes the 60th, event of a series, as a wedding anniversary. –verb (used with object)
18. to adorn with or as if with diamonds. —Idiom
19. diamond in the rough, a person of fine character but lacking refined manners or graces.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME diamant <> F aimant magnet, OPr aziman diamond, magnet), for L adamas adamant, diamond] —Related forms
dia·mond·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
rough /rʌf/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ruhf] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb, verb
–adjective
1. having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
2. shaggy or coarse: a dog with a rough coat.
3. (of an uninhabited region or large land area) steep or uneven and covered with high grass, brush, trees, stones, etc.: to hunt over rough country.
4. acting with or characterized by violence: Boxing is a rough sport.
5. characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules: It was a rough prize fight.
6. violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air: a rough sea.
7. having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven: The plane had a rough flight in the storm.
8. stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
9. sharp or harsh: a rough temper.
10. unmannerly or rude: his rough and churlish manner; They exchanged rough words.
11. disorderly or riotous: a rough mob.
12. difficult or unpleasant: to have a rough time of it.
13. harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.
14. harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent: a rough wine.
15. coarse, as food.
16. lacking culture or refinement: a rough, countrified manner.
17. without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences: rough camping.
18. requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill: rough manual labor.
19. not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style: a rough draft.
20. made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative: a rough guess.
21. crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared: rough rice.
22. Phonetics. uttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated. –noun
23. something that is rough, esp. rough ground.
24. Golf. any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
25. the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
26. anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
27. Chiefly British. a rowdy; ruffian. –adverb
28. in a rough manner; roughly. –verb (used with object)
29. to make rough; roughen.
30. to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often fol. by up): The mob roughed up the speaker.
31. to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often fol. by down, off, or out): to rough off boards.
32. to sketch roughly or in outline (often fol. by in or out): to rough out a diagram; to rough in the conversation of a novel.
33. Sports. to subject (a player on the opposing team) to unnecessary physical abuse, as in blocking or tackling: The team was penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker. –verb (used without object)
34. to become rough, as a surface.
35. to behave roughly. —Idioms
36. in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state: The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
37. rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions: We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME (adj. and n.); OE rūh (adj.); c. D ruig, G rauh] —Related forms
roughly, adverb
roughness, noun
—Synonyms 1. irregular, jagged, bumpy, craggy. 2. hairy, bristly. 13. noisy, cacophonous, raucous. 16. impolite, uncivil, unpolished, rude.
—Antonyms 1. smooth, even, regular.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
rough /rʌf/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ruhf] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb, verb
–adjective
1. having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
2. shaggy or coarse: a dog with a rough coat.
3. (of an uninhabited region or large land area) steep or uneven and covered with high grass, brush, trees, stones, etc.: to hunt over rough country.
4. acting with or characterized by violence: Boxing is a rough sport.
5. characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules: It was a rough prize fight.
6. violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air: a rough sea.
7. having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven: The plane had a rough flight in the storm.
8. stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
9. sharp or harsh: a rough temper.
10. unmannerly or rude: his rough and churlish manner; They exchanged rough words.
11. disorderly or riotous: a rough mob.
12. difficult or unpleasant: to have a rough time of it.
13. harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.
14. harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent: a rough wine.
15. coarse, as food.
16. lacking culture or refinement: a rough, countrified manner.
17. without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences: rough camping.
18. requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill: rough manual labor.
19. not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style: a rough draft.
20. made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative: a rough guess.
21. crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared: rough rice.
22. Phonetics. uttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated. –noun
23. something that is rough, esp. rough ground.
24. Golf. any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
25. the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
26. anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
27. Chiefly British. a rowdy; ruffian. –adverb
28. in a rough manner; roughly. –verb (used with object)
29. to make rough; roughen.
30. to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often fol. by up): The mob roughed up the speaker.
31. to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often fol. by down, off, or out): to rough off boards.
32. to sketch roughly or in outline (often fol. by in or out): to rough out a diagram; to rough in the conversation of a novel.
33. Sports. to subject (a player on the opposing team) to unnecessary physical abuse, as in blocking or tackling: The team was penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker. –verb (used without object)
34. to become rough, as a surface.
35. to behave roughly. —Idioms
36. in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state: The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
37. rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions: We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME (adj. and n.); OE rūh (adj.); c. D ruig, G rauh] —Related forms
roughly, adverb
roughness, noun
—Synonyms 1. irregular, jagged, bumpy, craggy. 2. hairy, bristly. 13. noisy, cacophonous, raucous. 16. impolite, uncivil, unpolished, rude.
—Antonyms 1. smooth, even, regular.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
ok, ok... I could go on like this for hours... I saw so many other things I wanted to look up just from look up the words diamond and rough... but I don't want to bore you to death so I'll stop now. perhaps you reading through all this stuff will make a light go off in your brain explaining how I could be "a diamond in the rough". in which case, PLEASE let me know!!! I'm so curious. haha
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1 comment:
Ok so I thought for a moment I was reading a Mraz blog lol.
My favorite thing you said in this blog, "that led to mass confusion in my head". haha yeah. made me laugh.
;0)
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