Episode 272: Diamond in the Rough

This week Shauna and Dan look into diamond in the rough and the two contemporary phases that merged to give us this phrase. Bonus: Dan learns something new, Your hosts accidentally take on the diamond cartel, and Shauna talks about a prison newspaper

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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 272: Diamond in the Rough
Record Date: March 29, 2025
Air Date: April 2, 2025

Intro

Dan:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.

I’m Dan Pugh

Shauna:
And I’m Shauna Harrison

Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.


Opening Hook
Not everything can be perfect at all times. That’s not just one of my personal mantras… it’s a fact of life. Sometimes it’s the situation or the resources available to us that are less refined. And sometimes, it’s the people. But most people have a sense for when someone has more to offer than what is obvious at first glance. You may have experienced this yourself. You look at someone and see a lot of potential and think… this one is a “diamond in the rough.”

Meaning

The key words in our phrase are diamond and rough.

There are two phrases or terms that were contemporaries - meaning, they existed at the same time. Both are a piece of the phrase “diamond in the rough.”

According to Oxford English Dictionary, the term “rough diamond” means:

Quote
A diamond in its natural state, before it is cut and polished; b. figurative a person having high intrinsic worth and good character but lacking in manners, education, or refinement.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/rough-diamond_n?tab=meaning_and_use#195689274

1625
Here is an example from the play “Wife for Moneth”, which was published in the 1625 work, “Comedies and tragedies” by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher.

Quote
She is very honest, And will be hard to cut as a rough Diamond.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/rough-diamond_n?tab=meaning_and_use#195689274

1700
Another early example of this is in John Dryden’s work Fables ancient and modern published in 1700. The following excerpt comes from his preface to the fables.

Quote
Chaucer^ I confess, is a rough Diamond, and must first be polish’d e’er he shines.
End quote

He goes on to provide a little more detail on his meaning.

Quote
I deny not likewise, that living in our early Days of Poetry, he writes not always of a piece ; but sometimes mingles trivial Things, with those of greater Moment. Sometimes also, though not often, he runs riot, like Ovid^ and knows not when he has said enough.
End quote
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44050/44050-h/44050-h.htm#FABLES

I think that’s true for a lot of authors.

Okay, that gets us the beginnings of “rough diamond” and now we’ll move to the second phrase.

According to Oxford English Dictionary, “in the rough” means:

Quote
In a rough, imperfect, or unfinished state; (esp. of a precious stone) before cutting and polishing. Frequently figurative and in figurative contexts.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/rough_n1?tab=meaning_and_use#24996238
https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.13045/2015.13045.The-Preface-To-The-Fables_djvu.txt
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44050/44050-h/44050-h.htm#FABLES

The phrase “in the rough” was in use at least as early as the mid 1600s. Here is an example from the 1688 work by Randle Holme titled, The academy of armory; or, A storehouse of armory and blazon.

Quote
Flax all one way, is Flax in the ruff, undressed.
End quote
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A44230.0001.001?view=toc

This excerpt refers to flax fibers that have not yet been fully processed or prepared. "Flax in the ruff" means the flax is still in its raw, unrefined state, and "undressed" indicates that the fibers haven't been cleaned or separated for spinning. Essentially, it describes flax that is still in its natural, coarse form, before any further refinement or treatment.


1770
It’s difficult to pin down exactly when these two phrases solidified into one because they were used with generally the same meaning. However, here is one early usage of the full phrase in the novel Theodora
by Dorothea du Bois.

Quote
You presented me with a diamond in the rough [said in reference to a young lady], but I think it as well polished a diamond as I ever saw.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/rough_n1?tab=meaning_and_use#24996238
https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_theodora-a-novel-by-th_du-bois-dorothea_1770_1

This excerpt helps verify that both pieces of the phrase were relatively common with people by this timeframe. The phrase is used as a contrast to describe the woman and is not further explained. It’s a very figurative usage.

1845
Next we’re looking at a few items from the 1800s. The first is from the story titled “A Passing Shadow of Life” published in the Staunton spectator, April 3, 1845, out of Staunton, Virginia.

Quote
But he came not! Beneath that coarse gown there beat a woman’s bosom; in the recesses of that heart there was the diamond in the rough of pure female love - generous, long-suffering, forgiving, and undying.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024719/1845-04-03/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1825&index=15&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1850&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

There’s more to that story… about the love she was looking for and his travels. And we’re going to read a little bit more during our behind the scenes which is available to all patrons every Friday on our Patreon. Go to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod.

1848
Just a few years later, the phrase is found in the Hillsdale Whig standard., April 11, 1848 edition, out of Hillsdale, Michigan. This is from the piece “The Gentleman” an extract from Bishop Doane’s Address at Burlington College.

Quote
When you have found a man, you have not far to go to find a gentleman. You cannot make a gold ring out of brass. You cannot change a Cape May cristal to a diamond. You cannot make a gentleman till you have first a man. To be a gentleman, it will not be sufficient to have had a grandfather. To be a gentlemen, does not depend upon the tailor or the toiler. Blood will degenerate. Good clothes are not good habits. The Prince Lee Boo concludes that the hog, in England, was the only gentleman, as being the only things that did not labor. A gentleman is just a gentle - man, no more, no less; a diamond polished, that was first a diamond in the rough.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89080032/1848-04-11/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1825&index=8&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1850&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

1893
The next item is found in The Prison Mirror out of Stillwater, Minnesota, dated July 6,1893. This comes from a piece titled, As It Appears to Me.

Quote
In order to fully understand and appreciate the Greeks, we must examine and judge them by the standard of their own times. If they were far from perfect, can we not say the same of ourselves of to-day, who have received the light and experiences of centuries? To me, Greece appears as a diamond in the rough; necessarily there was much about her that was dress, but the real gem was there.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063465/1893-07-06/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1880&index=1&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1900&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Now, if you’re like me, the name of the paper gave you pause. So, we’re taking a mandatory detour - a.k.a. bunny trail - to read a little about it.

The Prison Mirror, at various times entitled just the Mirror, is the newspaper of the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Stillwater, also known as the Stillwater State Prison, and claims to be the longest, continuously published prison newspaper in the country.

It was initially published weekly but is currently published monthly and is written by and for people incarcerated at the prison. The first issue was released on August 10, 1887, with the motto, “God helps those who help themselves.”  A few issues later the motto changed to “It is never too late to mend.”

The newspaper was intended to “[shed] a ray of light upon the lives of those behind the bars” to the outside world, and it aimed to be self-sustaining in terms of funding, declaring: “The entire profits of the Mirror, above the running expenses, will be devoted solely to the purchase of books and periodicals for the prison library.”
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063465/

1897
Just a few years later, we find the phrase in The Mena Weekly Star out of Mena, Arkansas. The May 26,1897 edition featured the article, “A Diamond in the Rough - But Labor and Capital Will Make Mena Shine as a Metropolis.”

Quote
Mena is a diamond in the rough. Nestling on the foot-hills of Rich Mountain, whose rock-rebbed sides and timbered crest rises 1400 feet above and to the north, as a protecting shield from northern blizzards and western cyclones, she rests in peace and security.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85032996/1897-05-26/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1880&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=DIAMOND+diamond+ROUGH+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1900&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Okay, we’ve described people’s appearance and behavior, locations and destinations. Now, we’re going to look at the phrase used to describe individuals as assets..

1912
This excerpt comes from the article, “Infant Class Hope of Every Team in Big League This Year” by Billy Evans, published in the January 17, 1912 edition of The Day Book out of Chicago, Illinois.

Quote
Washington has a diamond in the rough in Carl Cashion. This six-footer has the speed of Johnson, a good curve and a peculiar, jerky delivery that has the batter wondering when he intends to deliver the ball.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1912-01-17/ed-1/seq-20/#date1=1910&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1925&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


1950
Naturally, the phrase made it to the ads. We find it in the May 12, 1950 edition of the Evening Star out of Washington, DC in an ad for the clothier, Konrad’s.

Quote
Ours alone!

Black Linen

Black diamond in the rough.

Lotte designs our 10-Karat summer ensemble… a gem of fluid line and cool wrinkle-resistent pure linen.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1950-05-12/ed-1/seq-39/#date1=1935&index=8&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+rough&proxdistance=5&date2=1950&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


1959
I have one more item I want to look at and then we’ll move to our modern uses. This is a movie ad found in the March 5, 1959 edition of the Montgomery County Sentinel out of Maryland, USA.

Quote
Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren are billed together in The Black Orchid, the story of a gangster’s widow and her problem child. Quinn is a lovable diamond-in-the-rough and Miss Loren makes an enticing widow.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016209/1959-03-05/ed-1/seq-41/#date1=1958&index=9&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=diamond+diamond-in-the-rough+rough+rough-diamond&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=diamond+in+the+rough&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1


We have several modern uses to cover and we’ll get to those, right after we say thank you to our sponsors.

A Quick Thank You
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Modern Uses

1992
This phrase appears in an animated classic that Dan has likely been waiting for since he heard the topic of the episode… our excerpt comes from the 1992 Disney movie, Aladdin. After Jafar - the bad guy - finds a genie’s lamp in the desert, he attempts use a random thief to steal the hoards of treasure buried beneath the sand. His plan doesn’t go so well. The entrance to the Cave of Wonders resembles a massive, mystical tiger with glowing eyes and a deep, booming voice. It serves as the guardian of the treasures inside. He warns Jafar about who is allowed entry saying,

Quote
Only one may enter here - one whose worth lies far within - a diamond in the rough.
End quote
https://youtu.be/H3bkQB6-j0E?si=dMaV7dLpKLsjeHGW

2010
Diamond in the Rough is a Spray-paint on truck door artwork, signed and dated ‘BANKSY 10’ on the right edge. Here is a little bit about the 2010 piece from the website Banksy Explained,

Quote
One of the most enigmatic figures in contemporary art, Banksy is a highly vocal critic of society, bad actors of capitalism, and the place of graffiti within a greater art historical conversation. Diamond in the Rough speaks to the artist’s beginnings in the urban environment and is a deft combination of readymade surfaces and Banksy’s instantly recognizable style. The composition’s ingenuity lies both in the artist’s seemingly simple choice of subject matter and its ability to start a conversation about the art form at large.
…
Taking a steel and glass truck door as his canvas, Banksy builds out Diamond in the Rough by employing the extant tags and painted markings as the backdrop for his composition. Rendered in the artist’s signature stencil mode, a young girl sits at the bottom of the frame. Her right hand extends outward with the palm up to cradle a glowing gem with shine lines emanating on all sides that are reminiscent of the playful compositions of Keith Haring. A direct predecessor, Haring’s work also graced the public transit system decades prior and prefigured some of Banksy’s own compositions like Choose Your Weapon, 2010, which features an homage to the late artist’s barking dog motif.
End Quote
https://banksyexplained.com/diamond-in-the-rough-2010/


2010
Diamond in the Rough is a song by Airbourne, released on their 2010 album Black Dog Barking. Here are some of the lyrics.

Quote
I had a dollar in my pocket
And dirt on my hands
She was a rich man's daughter
Who didn't give a damn

She had all the boys talkin'
With her fancy cat walkin'
But it was me who took her home
And gave her bed a good rockin', oh yeah
End Quote
https://youtu.be/13z_9WBpE4A?si=kGVNGkNNXx0Cb-8O

2018
Diamond In The Rough is an artwork created by Junko Abe of the United States. The original piece was created in 2018. Here’s what the artist had to say about the piece,

Quote
In a time where chaos and unrest is quickly brewing within the country, we see vines of empathy, resilience, and unity tying us all together. Like a rose out of concrete, we grow stronger, pushing past the walls that confine us. A diamond out of the rough.

This seemed reflective to me, of the journey that hip hop, as a genre, and as a culture, had to travel through to get to where it is today. Using it's strength in community to uplift each other and itself within an industry which initially sought its downfall. The adversity had only made it stronger.

Combining my inspirations, I created a portrait of Rihanna, adorned with elegant diamonds and gems. Within a background that depicts a gritty, chaotic scene from Mad Max. To show that beauty can grow out of any environment.

Diamond in the Rough. But, Diamonds are Forever.
End quote
https://www.saatchiart.com/print/Painting-Diamond-In-The-Rough/990423/7768453/view


2020
Diamond in the Rough is book 1 of 3 of the The Diamond Trilogy by Skye Warren, published in 2020. Here is a teaser from the author’s website,

Quote
I’m stepping off a nine hour flight when it happens. A white van. A dark hood. Every woman’s worst nightmare.

Now I’m trapped in an abandoned church. The man who took me says I won’t be hurt. The man in the cell next to me says that’s a lie. I’ll fight with every ounce of strength, but there are secrets in these walls. I’ll need every single one of them to survive.

“Diamond in the Rough is masterfully written, sinfully sexy, and utterly addictive! Skye Warren proves why she is the queen of dark and delicious romance.” – Giana Darling, USA Today bestselling author

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH is a new dark romance from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren. Finding yourself has never been so dangerous…
End Quote
https://www.skyewarren.com/books/diamond-in-the-rough/


2024
Diamond in The Rough is a song from Charley Crockett’s 2024 album $10 Cowboy.

Quote
Diamond in the rough
I know you've had it tough
A woman sure gets judged at a man's game
Empire may rule the world
I'm only livin' for you, girl
And I can see you as you twirl
Diamond in the rough
End quote
https://youtu.be/OP-S296011Y?si=Xx4gPo1xHnYSgwjg


Current
DitrJewelry - that stands for Diamond in the rough - shares a brief description on their page titled, The Value of Rough Diamonds. There is an image with four stones with different colors and cuts labeled The Art of Rough. Here is a little from the article,

Quote
Rough diamonds are revered for their pure, untouched state and natural beauty. Their value lies both in their beauty and raw material and many do not know that actually it is the cost of the rough diamond that determines the price of a polished diamond.
End quote
https://ditrjewelry.com/pages/the-value-of-rough-diamonds

The company follows this concept into the design of their pieces,

Quote
Diamond in the Rough Jewelry, is the world’s leading Natural Rough Diamond Jewelry Brand.
We are Inspired by the unique design of each rough diamond, we redefine perceptions of diamond jewelry by showcasing the inherent beauty of these gemstones in their untouched form.
End quote

Their jewelry is definitely unique and lovely.

Wrap up:
In my opinion, "diamond in the rough" is one of the most versatile phrases. It can apply to anything or anyone. And it’s positive—focused on the potential and growth within something that might seem less desirable. I love what this phrase embodies. Because, truly, we are all a work in progress. We’re constantly growing, learning, and improving every day of our lives. Perhaps we could all be better encouragers and supporters of one another if, instead of focusing on each other's flaws, we saw each other as diamonds in the rough.

Shauna:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website, bunnytrailspod.com

Dan:

It’s poll time!

Recently we asked our Patrons, Which of Disney's 7 Dwarves best fits you?

It seems Bashful and Sneezy win the day, with Happy and Sleepy not too far behind.

Jan says:
Quote
To the annoyance of my family, I sneeze 5-7 times at one go. I’ve got to pick Sneezy.
End Quote

Emily shares:
Quote
I went with Sneezy, because Allergies. My other choice was Happy because I feel like I’m a positive, optimistic person
End quote

Shauna:
Lately, I’ve been mostly like Sleepy and I’m Sneezy whenever there’s a cat nearby. But I’m going with Bashful. I’m not sure if I’m truly bashful, but his demeanor seems to fit me.

Dan:
This one is difficult for me, because I have elements of all Disney’s classic seven dwarves except Bashful! I'm a jovial person, so I think I'll go with Happy. But Sneezy and Sleepy apply often as well, and I fear Dopey might be in the mix for me more often than I want to admit.

As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!

Outro

Dan:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,

Together:
Words belong to their users.