never the twain shall meet

never the twain shall meet

These two people, things, or groups are so fundamentally different from one another that they will never be able to coexist or think alike. Primarily heard in US. My best friend is a staunch conservative, while my brother is a hardcore liberal, and never the twain shall meet.
See also: meet, never, shall, twain
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

never the twain shall meet

or

ne'er the twain shall meet

LITERARY
People say never the twain shall meet or ne'er the twain shall meet when they believe that there are so many differences between two groups of people or two groups of things that they can never exist together. The British education system is notorious for separating the sciences and the humanities. This academic `ne'er the twain shall meet' policy does not always reflect the needs of the real world. Note: People often vary this expression. For example, they say that the twain should meet or the twain are not supposed to meet. Although they recognised differences between East and West, they went on to argue that the twain should and must meet. Note: `Twain' is an old-fashioned word meaning two. This is a quotation from `The Ballad of East and West' (1889) by the English poet Rudyard Kipling: `Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.'
See also: meet, never, shall, twain
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

never the twain shall meet

two people or things are too different to exist alongside or understand each other.
This phrase comes from Rudyard Kipling's poem ‘The Ballad of East and West’ ( 1892 ): ‘Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet’.
See also: meet, never, shall, twain
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

never the ˌtwain shall ˈmeet

(saying) used to say that two things are so different that they cannot exist together: People in the area where I grew up were either landowners or farmers, and never the twain shall meet.
Twain is an old word meaning ‘two’.
See also: meet, never, shall, twain
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • chip
  • chips
  • up on (one's) ear
  • Two Bob
  • one of the boys
  • one of the lads
  • when you've seen one (something), you've seen them all
  • when you've seen, heard, etc. one, you've seen, heard, etc. them all
  • be one of the lads/boys/girls
  • lad
References in periodicals archive
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To understand foreign policy, understand 'backyard wars'
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If it's Kipling now, Shakespeare will be next for sure
Some people will be falling at your feet this weekend, and others never the twain shall meet.
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Never the Twain Shall Meet? Latins and Greeks Learning From Each Other in Byzantium
Never the Twain Shall Meet? Latins and Greeks Learning From Each Other in Byzantium
As always, Anthony wrote a brilliantly descriptive and entertaining account of proceedings, but I'm afraid his football heaven equates to my football hell and never the twain shall meet.
Does Anthony stand corrected?
While this is little more than a quip reflecting the nationalist sentiment that Cyprus is an island populated by Greeks and Turks and never the twain shall meet, it raises an important issue about the flexibility and fragility of identity is raised.
Are the only true Cypriots the donkeys of Karpasia?
People do tend to compartmentalise friendship groups though, and never the twain shall meet.
I FEEL EXCLUDED BY MY FRIENDS
To borrow from Rudyard Kipling's The Ballad of East and West, "Oh East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." Is this the fate of Alaska's priorities and actions?
Legislative priorities and legislative action: never the twain shall meet?
It seems that never the twain shall meet. But these two colleagues have been having similar conversations for decades with fruitful results.
Feminist theologians' discussion models fruitful disagreement
See these additional blog posts by Knut Rostad of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard: The October Surprise and the Campaign for BICE Morgan Stanley and Fiduciary: Never the Twain Shall Meet?
In DOL/Post DOL Fiduciary World, RIAs Need to Re-Differentiate
It was rare for a student with a blue sheet to be moved to the academic pathway and "never the twain shall meet".
Dilemma of personalising the curriculum to suit every pupil