handsome is as handsome does

handsome is as handsome does {informal}

A person must act well and generously so that he will be truly worth respecting. — A proverb.

Everyone thinks that Bon is a very handsome boy, but he is very mean too. Handsome is as handsome does.

Compare: FINE FEATHERS DO NOT MAKE PINE BIRDS.

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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms

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