"All that glitters is not gold."

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This expression has been in use for centuries, and appeared in writing long before Shakespeare famously used it in The Merchant of Venice (with the archaic form 'glisters' in place of 'glitters') (Act II, scene vii). It is perfectly valid taken literally, but has meanings far beyond the denunciation of pyrite.

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The phrase cautions that appearances

may deceive. It warns that true worth

may not be immediately evident.

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This saying can be examined by analysis of its two keys words-- these words being, of course, 'glitter' and 'gold.'

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What does it mean to say that something 'glitters'? In this context, the word does not refer exclusively to a literal shine. As E.A. Poe put it: "glitter... its idea has become... confounded with that of magnificence in the abstract..." (The Philosophy of Furniture, 1850). A figurative glitter, then, represents perceived splendor, the conceptual equivalent to a sparkle or shimmer.

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Gold is an ancient and universal symbol of value; it acts as a common currency, it features in the finest craftwork, and is believed to have healing effects and magical qualities. Beautiful, rare, and impervious to tarnish and corrosion, gold, in the figurative sense, implies a pure and true worth.

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To state that 'all that glitters is not gold'

is to stress that superficial appeal may hide

worthless ventures or devious intentions.

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The phrase is structured as simple and direct advice. 'All that glitters is not gold' serves as a stern warning against deceptive facades. It evokes tales of those lured to betrayal by the promise of riches and of evil which hides beneath alluring masks; it reminds that things are never what they seem.