Context

Jeremiah wasn't the cheeriest prophet. In fact, he spent most of his time warning the people of Israel that they were going to be attacked, invaded, and killed by the Babylonians because they were so sinful and awful. Yeah, he was no fun at parties.

Here, Jeremiah is in the middle of one of his classic diatribes against the wicked people of Israel. Not only are these guys totally awful, but, in truth there's nothing they can do to change their wicked ways. After all, can a person change the color of their skin? Can an animal just switch up its fur? Nope. These guys aren't just bad, they're bad to the bone. Literally.

This idiom is actually a pretty popular and interesting one. Who hasn't watched someone do jerky things over and over again and not thought of this saying? Sometimes it's tough to imagine people changing.

On the other hand, it's kind of a discouraging idea. Is Jeremiah trying to say that these wicked folks are born that way, like leopards are born with their spots? Why would Jeremiah warn people if he thinks they can't change? There's got to be hope for those mean leopards somehow. Fingers crossed.

Where you've heard it

The last half of this quote, which you'll usually hear as "a leopard can't change its spots," is way more popular than the part about the guy from Ethiopia. But, both mean the same depressing thing: Some people never change.

Additional Notable References

• In Richard II, King Richard says that "lions make leopards tame," but Thomas Mowbray reminds him that a lion cannot "change [the leopard's] spots."
• Both Will Shakespeare and LMFAO love this quote. In LMFAO's song "What Happens at the Party," the guys say, "You can't change the spots on a leopard/ In the club, the homies call me Redfoo Hefner."
• An episode of Trailer Park Boys is entitled "A S*** Leopard Can't Change Its Spots." So true.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This folksy, down-home expression could never seem pretentious. You'll probably even get some approving nods when you mention this little phrase in reference to your ne'er-do-well cousin Darryl at the next family get together. Sorry, Darryl.