All that glitters is not gold

Other phrases about:

• Proverbs

What's the meaning of the phrase 'All that glitters is not gold'?

The proverbial saying 'All that glitters is not gold' means that not everything that is shiny and superficially attractive is valuable.

What's the origin of the phrase 'All that glitters is not gold'?

The original form of this phrase was 'all that glisters is not gold'. The 'glitters' version long ago superseded the original and is now almost universally used.

Shakespeare is the best-known writer to have expressed the idea that shiny things aren't necessarily precious things. The original editions of The Merchant of Venice, 1596, have the line as 'all that glisters is not gold'. 'Glister' is usually replaced by 'glitter' in modern renditions of the play:

O hell! what have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll! I'll read the writing.
All that glitters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscroll'd:
Fare you well; your suit is cold.