bred in the bone

bred in the bone

1. Deeply and firmly rooted, ingrained, or established. Hyphenated if used as a modifier. His bred-in-the-bone etiquette came as a result of his years of military training. In this part of the country, hospitality is simply bred in the bone.
2. Long-standing and habitual, especially of ideology or religion. Hyphenated if used as a modifier. Most people vote according to their bred-in-the-bone political identification, rather than making individual assessments of different candidates. A lot of times, religious views are simply bred in the bone.
See also: bone, bred
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • once in a lifetime
  • a round robin
  • round robin
  • eleventh hour
  • heads I win, tails you lose
  • every woman for herself
  • black market
  • a light touch
  • out of context
  • first hand
References in classic literature
The result has since shown that "what is bred in the bone will break out in the flesh." Commerce was at a standstill; our master passed half his time under arms, as a national guard, in order to keep the revolutionists from revolutionizing the revolution.
{il y a Bourbon et Bourbon = there are Bourbons and Bourbons (i.e., they're all the same); "What is bred in the bone...." = a possibly deliberate misquotation of "It will not out of the flesh that is bred in the bone" from John Heywood, "Proverbes", Part II, Chapter VIII (1546)}
Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief
Intrepid leadership is risky business, but for some of us, it's bred in the bone."
World needs more of Michael Atkins: professor, fan
The book is the third in the so-called Cornish trilogy that also includes The Rebel Angels (1981) and What's Bred in the Bone (1985).
Lyre of Orpheus, The