different strokes for different folks (often shortened to ’strokes for folks’)
proverbial saying

- used for saying that what is good or enjoyable for one person may not be so for someone else

Macmillan Dictionary

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ORIGIN

Late 20th century and of African-American origin. The noun “stroke” denotes a comforting gesture of approval or congratulation, and, by extension, a flattering or friendly remark.

In 1974 an advertisement for Volkswagen parodied this by saying:
 
“Different Volks for different folks”

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The Canadian-born U.S. psychiatrist Eric Berne (1910-1970) defined a stroke “as the fundamental unit of social action” in his classic book “Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships”:

"Stroking may be used as a general term for intimate physical contact; in practice it may take various forms. Some people literally stroke an infant; others hug or pat it, while some people pinch it playfully or flip it with a fingertip. These all have their analogues in conversation, so that it seems one might predict how an individual would handle a baby by listening to him talk. By an extension of meaning, ‘stroking’ may be employed colloquially to denote any act implying recognition of another’s presence. Hence a stroke may be used as the fundamental unit of social action. An exchange of strokes constitutes a transaction, which is the unit of social intercourse."

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SING ALONG

The phrase occurs in the song “Everyday People”originally sung by 'Sly and the Family Stone':

The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in
I am everyday people, yeah yeah

There is a blue one who can’t accept the green one
For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one
And DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby

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PRACTICE OWAD in an English conversation, say something like:

“If Mary prefers spaghetti and John prefers pizza, let them have it - STROKES FOR FOLKS.”

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Paul Smith