Fools gold

Fool's gold

Meaning

Something that appears valuable but really isn’t, like iron pyrites – a worthless mineral that resembles gold.

Examples

The investment promised 80% returns but turned out to make a loss – just fools gold I guess.

Where did it originate?

USA, 19th century.

Where is it used?

Worldwide.

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About the Author

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.