you can't keep a good man down

you can't keep a good man down

1. (idiomatic) A person who has talent, resolve, or moral strength will eventually succeed despite having been overlooked, injured, or defeated.
   • 1915, P. G. Wodehouse, "Concealed Art":

     "Isn't it perfectly splendid, Mr. Pepper, to think that Archie's genius has at last been recognized? How quiet he kept it. I had no idea that Mr. Brackett was even interested in his work. I wonder how he heard of it?"

     "Oh, these things get about," I said. "You can't keep a good man down."

   • 1984 March 26, Richard Corliss, "Cinema: The Master Who Knew Too Much," Time (retrieved 18 Jan 2018):

     You can't keep a good man down. Like the corpse in The Trouble with Harry who just won't stay buried, Alfred Hitchcock keeps popping out of his grave to terrify and delight new audiences.

   • 2000 April 3, Chris Hewett, "Rugby: Running talent will put life into Lions," Independent (UK) (retrieved 18 Jan 2018):

     He cut a sorry figure after the thumping by England, but you can't keep a good man down. That familiar mix of manic energy and piratical lunacy enabled the totemic Irishman to reassert his status as a world-class performer.

   • 2013 January 22, Jack Goodstein, "Music Review: Boyd Lee Dunlop—The Lake Reflections," Seattle Post-Intelligencer (retrieved 18 Jan 2018):

     Dunlop suffered a coronary arrest—his heart stopped for almost six minutes. But even at 85, you can't keep a good man down, and he was able to recover.