phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

All that glitters is not gold

Posted by ESC on March 13, 2003

In Reply to: All that glitters is not gold posted by jee-an on March 13, 2003

: Hi everyone, I am a foreigner to english.

: I have just seen the meaning of 'All that glitters is not gold' which is 'a showy article may not nessarily be valuable.' To me that means some showy articles are valuable. So in other words, some objetcs that glitter are gold.

: Now my question is if my understanding of that is acceptable, then what is the difference, if there is, between 'All that glitters is not gold', and 'Not all that glitters is gold'?

: Thank you.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD - "The appearance of a thing or person can be deceptive. This proverb is similar to the L*tin: Non omne quod nitet aurum est. ('Not all that shines is gold.') The proverb was used by Chaucer (c. 1374-87), by Cervantes in 'Don Quixote' (1605-15), and by Shakespeare in 'The Merchant of Venice' in 1596. First attested in the United States in the 'Winthrop Papers' ." From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

There's more discussion in the archives under "gold."

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.