old wine in a new bottle

English

Alternative forms

• old wine in new bottles

Etymology

A reference to the parable of Jesus of New Wine into Old Wineskins, Matthew 9:14–17, Mark 2:21–22, and Luke 5:33–39.

Noun

old wine in a new bottle (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) An existing concept or institution offered as though it were a new one.
   • 2003, Stephen M Colarelli, No Best Way:

     Finally, some critics argue that evolutionary psychology is old wine in a new bottle — the old instinct theory in a new package.

   • 2022 February 6, Lauren Gambino, quoting Robert Gangi, “Can Biden tackle rising crime without abandoning police reform promise?”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Police reform advocate Robert Gangi called the plan “old wine in a new bottle” that relied “mainly on punitive law enforcement tactics”.

Usage notes

Often confused and used interchangeably with new wine in an old bottle; according to David Crystal, this could be explained by the fact that wineskin was translated as bottle in the KJV, obscuring the original metaphor.

Translations

existing concept or institution presented as if new

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新瓶裝舊酒 / 新瓶装旧酒 (xīn píng zhuāng jiù jiǔ)

• Danish: gammel vin på nye flasker (da) c
• Dutch: oude wijn in nieuwe flessen
• Finnish: vanhaa viiniä uudessa pullossa
• German: alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen (de) (literally “old wine in new wineskins”); Altes in neuem Gewand (literally “something old in a new garment”); dasselbe in grün (literally “the same thing in green”)
• Hungarian: (inside) régi bor új tömlőben, (into) régi bort új tömlőbe
• Persian: ارایه ایده ای کهنه در لباسی نو
• Polish: stare wino w nowych bukłakach n
• Russian: ста́рая пе́сня, да на но́вый лад (stáraja pésnja, da na nóvyj lad, literally “old song but with a new melody”), но́вое вино́ в ве́тхие ме́хи (nóvoje vinó v vétxije méxi) (biblical)
• Spanish: el mismo perro con distinto collar
• Swedish: gammalt vin i en ny flaska

See also

• good wine needs no bush
• new wine in an old bottle
• mutton dressed as lamb
• put lipstick on a pig