Idiom
All that glitters is not gold
All that glitters is not gold means that something attractive or impressive on the outside may not be valuable or good.
How people use it
People say it as a warning not to judge by appearances: a flashy job offer, a shiny gadget, a charming stranger. It is a proverb, so it is often said on its own or after "remember." Some careful writers point out that the logic really means "not all that glitters is gold," and that clearer form is also common. In British English you may hear "all that glistens is not gold." The tone is neutral.
Also said: not all that glitters is gold, all that glisters is not gold, all that glistens is not gold.
Examples
- The apartment looked amazing online, but all that glitters is not gold: the heating didn't work.
- Grace's grandmother reminded her that all that glitters is not gold when she fell for the flashy car.
- Not all that glitters is gold, so read the reviews before you buy that expensive gadget.
Where it comes from
The idea is ancient and appears in Latin and medieval writing; Chaucer expressed it in the 1300s. The most famous version is Shakespeare's in The Merchant of Venice, written in the late 1590s, where a suitor opens a golden box and finds a note that begins "All that glisters is not gold." Glisters is an old word for glitters, which later replaced it in everyday speech.
Check yourself
1. What does all that glitters is not gold mean?
Answer: Attractive things are not always valuable. The proverb warns that a good appearance can hide something worthless.
2. Which Shakespeare play made this saying famous?
Answer: The Merchant of Venice. In The Merchant of Venice, a note in a golden box says all that glisters is not gold.
Similar idioms
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