East or west, home is best means that wherever you go, nowhere feels better than home. Literally: whether you're in the east or the west, home is the best place. The proverb sounds a little bookish and old-fashioned, so in everyday speech people usually say it with a smile, after coming back from a trip.
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East or west, home is best. (fixed proverb); As they say, east or west, home is best.
- After two months of travelling around Asia, I finally slept in my own bed. East or west, home is best.
- My grandmother never wanted to move abroad; she always said, 'East or west, home is best.'
What changed
First versionWe had a great holiday in Spain, but east or west, home is the best.
RevisionWe had a great holiday in Spain, but east or west, home is best.
Textbooks teach that a superlative needs an article: the best. But the proverb is a fixed formula, and best has no the in it, just as in it's best to wait. The extra the was removed; nothing else changed.
In everyday conversation, people more often express the same feeling more simply: There's no place like home. That's what you say when you drop your bag in the hall after a long journey: Finally back in my own bed. There's no place like home! Even shorter and warmer is Home sweet home.
Your turn
After a long business trip, Daniel dropped his bag in the hall, smiled and said: '___.'
Show the answer
East or west, home is best — Daniel has come home after a long business trip and is glad to be back: east or west, home is best. Make yourself at home is what a host says to a guest, but Daniel isn't welcoming anyone; he's the one who has come back.
Write about coming home after a trip. Say where you were and the first thing you did at home.
After a week in Istanbul, I made a cup of tea and lay down on my own sofa. East or west, home is best.
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