diamond in the rough

1. Someone or something with potential or talent but lacking training or polish: “Her singing voice is beautiful, but she needs help with her gestures; she's a diamond in the rough.” This phrase refers to the fact that diamonds found in nature are rough and uneven. They must be cut and polished to bring out their true beauty.

Idioms and Phrases

Also, a rough diamond . A person of exceptional character or potential but lacking polish and refinement. For example, Jack is intelligent and trustworthy but lacks manners—he's a diamond in the rough . [Early 1600s]

Example Sentences

Wild Mother had also turned to social media to find her tribe - having been called "a weirdo, an alien, a diamond in the rough" offline - and has built a following of thousands.

From BBC

“It was portrayed as she found this diamond in the rough that nobody ever heard of,” said French.

From Los Angeles Times

But our best type of recruit is what I call a diamond in the rough.

From Science Magazine

But he added that a Native Hawaiian leader he’d spoken to had called the tree a “diamond in the rough of hope.”

From Seattle Times

“A diamond in the rough,” as Crump once proudly said he was labeled by a superior.

From Los Angeles Times