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Although I've often heard use of the phrase:

You are a gentleman and a scholar

I have never heard a version appropriate for the fairer sex. I guess you could say a lady and a scholar?

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There is no exact equivalent of the idiom, and "lady and a scholar" is just going to sound silly or patronizing. I suggest just dropping the idiom altogether and offering a gender neutral compliment such as "you are very generous and thoughtful". While you're at it, you could probably also 86 "fairer sex". Gender neutrality is hard, but worthwhile. –  MετάEd Jun 29 '12 at 22:33
@MetaEd: Well, «fairer sex» already sounds silly and patroninizing, so that ship has already sailed! :) –  Mariano Jun 30 '12 at 3:31
The expression comes from a male-dominated world, as does the similar 'an officer and a gentleman'. –  Barrie England Jun 30 '12 at 6:16
Both current answers take the phrase rather literally. I've always encountered it in a figurative sense, or simply as a means of expressing gratitude, and Wiktionary defines it simply a an admirable person.Perhaps you could expand on what you want your female equivalent to connote? –  Peter Taylor Jun 30 '12 at 9:36
Reminds me of the old joke: "You're a gentleman and a scholar... and I'm a liar." –  J.R. Jul 1 '12 at 1:45

7 Answers 7

up vote 17 down vote accepted

Perhaps a "learned lady" would be somewhat equivalent to "a gentleman and a scholar."

In this phrase, learned (lur-nid) is defined as:

  1. having great knowledge or erudition
  2. involving or characterized by scholarship

And a lady is:

  1. A well-mannered and considerate woman with high standards of proper behavior.
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+1 I can totally parse, "You are a learned lady. Impressive." as the equivalent to, "My, you are a gentleman. And a scholar." Tone is up to imagination :). –  Zoe Aug 2 '14 at 12:47

I don't think there is an exact equivalent. The problem is that you are asking for a phrase with these incompatible connotations:

  • It should be an old-fashioned idiom. (A modern phrase would not have the same ring to it: notice that it's rare to call somebody a "scholar" these days, except in a rather narrow, technical sense.)
  • It should suggest that she is scholarly.
  • It should suggest that she possesses the qualities admired in a lady.

They are incompatible because, traditionally, female scholarship was not considered ladylike. A female scholar was considered a kind of de-feminised monster.

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I can only think of one proper word for an intellectual woman: bluestocking. The etymology is given at Etymonline and Wikipedia, but as you would guess, originally the term was derisive and not appreciative. The situation is different today, for example, Chambers just states:

An intellectual woman

There is another substitute from the French: bas bleu, but the etymological connotations are the same.

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I always thought this meant just upper-class, but that's me just mixing it up with 'blue blooded'. –  Mitch Jan 1 at 21:46

This is a rather archaic phrase. The basic idea behind it is that the man in question, rather than being someone who defines himself by labor and/or physical activity (as typical men do), is someone who is genteel, and cares about higher intellectual pursuits. Its kind of the opposite of saying someone is "a man of action".

The problem with applying this to a woman is that unlike with men, this is exactly how a proper lady was supposed to be. Mostly. There weren't supposed to be any "women of action". So in theory there should be no need to say such a thing about a woman.

I'd say that if you are worried about gender equity, this phrase is so loaded down with gender biases that turning it around it hopeless. You should avoid it altogether.

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I don’t think archaic means what you think it means. –  tchrist Jan 1 at 16:42

I'd say that lady is appropriate for the first term as a feminine equivalent.

It's certainly complimentary and could possibly put the other above yourself in the spirit of the original phrase.

The trouble is invariably with second word. Since this is essentially hyperbole, you must have a word that almost trumps the first.

For any man to be a gentleman AND a scholar he'd need to be truly diverse indeed.

And what lady doesn't want to be just as admired for her diverse talents.

And finally, it must also be old fashioned to truly fit the bill.

To me angel or heroine seems to fit the bill quite nicely.

You're a lady and a heroine, my dear.

You're a lady and an angel, my dear.

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It's ANGEL, unless you're talking about trigonometry :) –  Mari-Lou A Aug 2 '14 at 8:38
@Mari-LouA: that seems rather obtuse. –  TimLymington Aug 2 '14 at 10:26

This is the most straightforward way to adapt it:

You are a gentlewoman and a scholar

Gentlewoman is simply the female version of gentleman; it's not significantly different in definition.

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Sure, the use of the old idiom was a conundrum for me as well. So a number of years ago I created a better idiom that is equally praising for both genders.

To begin with, let's understand that the word 'gentleman" in the old idiom "You are a gentleman and a scholar" is not necessarily meant to be sexually biased for men. Instead, the old idiom is a compliment of the person's honorable character and to the person's wisdom.

Therefore, "gentleman" and "noble" equally describes the character of a person as being honorable.

So, if the person you are praising with my idiom "You are a noble and a scholar" truly reflects the character and the wisdom he or she has, then it will be perfectly understood and graciously appreciated.


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Although the question isn't entirely clear, I interpreted it as looking for an established idiom, not a neologism. –  David Richerby Jan 2 at 0:05

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