you can't keep a good man down

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you can't keep a good man down

1. 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”, in Time, retrieved 18 January 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”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 18 January 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”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 18 January 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.