mend one's ways

Idioms and Phrases

Improve one's behavior, as in Threatened with suspension, Jerry promised to mend his ways . This expression, transferring a repair of clothes to one of character, was first recorded in 1868, but 150 or so years earlier it had appeared as mend one's manners .

Example Sentences

Confucius said: “Not to mend one’s ways when one has erred is to err indeed.”

From New York Times

“Not to mend one’s ways when one has erred is to err indeed,” he admonished.

From Washington Post

"It's a virtue to acknowledge one's mistakes and mend one's ways, and crying is seen as a symbol of that."

From Salon