a new broom sweeps clean

English

Alternative forms

• new brooms sweep clean

Proverb

a new broom sweeps clean

1. (figurative) New management will often make radical changes.

Derived terms

• (Commonwealth of Nations) a new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows the corners

Translations

new management will often make radical changes

• Catalan: càntir nou fa l'aigua fresca, escombra nova escombra net
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新官上任三把火 (zh) (xīn guān shàngrèn sān bǎ huǒ)

• Czech: nové koště dobře mete (cs)
• Danish: nye koste fejer bedst
• Dutch: nieuwe bezems vegen schoon
• Finnish: uusi luuta lakaisee hyvin
• German: neue Besen kehren gut (de)
• Hungarian: új seprű jól seper (hu)
• Italian: scopa nuova scopa bene
• Malay:

  Jawi: ڤڽاڤو بارو

  Rumi: penyapu baru

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nye koster feier best

• Polish: nowy szef, nowe porządki
• Portuguese: vassoura nova varre bem
• Russian: но́вая метла́ по-но́вому метёт (nóvaja metlá po-nóvomu metjót)
• Spanish: escoba nueva barre bien
• Vietnamese: có mới nới cũ (literally “new replaces old”)

See also

• clean sweep
• one nail drives out another

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 249.