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I'm looking for and idiom, expression or proverb for criticizing (or describing) a situation in which someone doesn't pay attention to/ like their old things, friends, colleagues, hobbies, etc any more just after having or finding a new one, and that might be kind of annoying to others.

We Iranians use a proverb that literally says:

"When the New comes to the market, the Old would become boring/ uninteresting."

It would be stated sarcastically in situations like these:

1- I have a 9-year-old daughter who loves her toys very much, especially her teddy bear. Some day, I buy a kids' tablet for her and after that she wouldn't pay attention to those toys any more.

When I ask her "why don't you play with the teddy bear any more!?" She would reply " Oh, I don't like it, I prefere to play with these apps." Then my husband would say "as you know, when the New comes to the market, the Old becomes uninteresting! (i.e. now that she has that tablet, she doesn't pay attention to/ like her old toys any more.)

2- I'm a high school student, and a beautiful and clever student has recently transferred to my class.

After making friend with her, I spend most of my time with her, so my classmate who was my best friend before, would sarcastically say to me "Oh, I can't belive it! I see that you have totally forgotten about me! Well, that's why that old proverb says "when the New comes to the market, the Old becomes boring!", okay! I have nothing to do with you either! Have fun with that new friend!"

Is there any idiom or proverb in English that could convey this connotation?

I have found "out with the old, in with the new" as equivalent for this Persian proverb in some Persian -to -English books, but I'm not sure if it would have the same meaning.

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    I like this question partly because I had an ex-girlfriend who used to say 'stuffs' so your usage reminds me of her. Plus it's a generally awesome question and you even thought to include a picture. One of my all-time fave English Language & Usage questions I feel. Apr 15, 2016 at 15:22
  • @Peter David Carter, I'm happy you liked my question, :) Is it okay to use "stuffs" for "things" in our questions here? ( Should I edit my question?)
    – Soudabeh
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:26
  • On a personal level, no. On a technical level, I can't think of a reason why you'd want to define a superset of 'stuff' but there probably is one. Apr 15, 2016 at 15:30
  • @Peter David Carter, I had forgotten that 'stuff' is uncountable. :)
    – Soudabeh
    Apr 15, 2016 at 15:39

3 Answers 3

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There is a quote from William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) saying that:

Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.

Also, Thomas Hood (1799-1845) said:

There are three things which the public will always clamor for, sooner or later: namely, Novelty, novelty, novelty.

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A new broom sweeps clean [, but an old broom knows every corner/all the corners]

Don't be in such a rush to throw away the friends or lover you have for someone new who may not be better and doesn't know you as well. Also can be applied to objects which have served you well. Don't be so quick to throw them out in favor of new but not as effective products.

Google Books

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The idea you describe is somewhat conveyed by this saying:

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?

According to Wikipedia, this rhetorical question is derived from the title of a song that became popular after World War I, in which it was wondered whether American soldiers returning from the war to their homes in the countryside would become dissatisfied with their old way of life after being exposed to the supposedly richer culture that prevailed in urban centers in Europe, like Paris.

The saying has sometimes been adapted by substituting in place of "Paree" words or phrases more relevant to the topic at hand.

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