make an honest woman of her

make an honest woman (out) of (someone)

To marry a woman that one is dating. You've been dating Carrie for quite some time now, Pete. When are you going to make an honest woman out of her?See also: honest, make, of, woman

make an honest woman of her

Marry a woman who was seduced; restore virtue. Honesty and chastity have been verbally equated since the 1600s. The cliché is still used, mostly ironically or figuratively. Thus, “For an encore, Jackiw, Zander and company made an honest woman of that hoary standard, ‘Meditation’ from Massenet’s Thais” (Boston Globe, June 15, 2001).See also: honest, make, of, woman